Help Him Walk Again

Our Hereford Dwarf Bullock Rescue

It all started on thurs 5th march when i unexpectedly got a call from a contact in the farming world…
About a dwarf hereford that was in trouble….
Sadly he was destined for death by a bullet if we could not bring him home…
In the industry he was a reject, he is a dwarf and an embarrassment to the breed…
Thankfully he got a reprieve when the people who called me took pity on him and took him into their farm.
They thought that he could live with their own cows and be used as a handling bullock that could teach people how to show and handle….
But sadly he was not doing well and falls on the hills and in the mud, plus possible attacks from the other cows ( who knows)….
He was recently found stuck and at that point we got the call to see if we could do anything….
Failing our help then he would have to be shot…
So today we rushed to see him…
OMG he melted my heart and we just HAVE to save him 

So from what i can gather he was running around that week of the 1st march to the 3rd march….but was found down on the 4th….
We saw him on the 5th of march and it was obvious he had a problem but nothing like what he is now….But i am thinking that when we saw him on the 5th it must of been just days prior that he had taken a blow or fallen…
We agreed to take the boy on, but we got a call on the tues to ask if we were sure as he seemed to be getting worse :0(
Of course we were terrified but no matter what we would do the best for him, even if we cannot get him right again we will let him go humanely (god forbid ) ..He would NEVER be shot

So we waited the delivery of a new rescue ….
When they arrived i felt ill with worry as he was down, on his side in the trailer and my heart sank as he really did seem worse…. I tried to tell myself it was the journey….4 of us struggled to get him to his feet but to no avail, we had to gently drag him from the trailer

I now began a heart wrenching journey that was breaking my heart

Shortly before the boy arrived my partner (wazza) was rushing around to get ready for his arrival, he tripped and we ended up in hospital, thankfully no break to his ankle but another huge blow as we needed to lift the new bullock physically and it was pretty much down to me in the first couple of days 

I had booked a vet for the following morning but i was so concerned i called out an emergency vet ….Sadly with him being a cow it seems there are very little options to help these animals…..If he were a large dog or a horse then theres no problem but as i was about to find out…..Theres was really no one that wanted to really help him…..
I entered a very dark and terrifying world of loneliness and for the next 2 days i cried constantly not knowing what to do

Our vet did the routine things and our little boy was given a inti inflammatory jab and a selenium jab….He could stand if supported but then would lose his balance on his back legs and fall to the ground…So weak he did not have the strength to get back up.
We made him as comfortable as possible and prayed for a miracle

Day 2 wed 11th march
The weather had changed over night from lovely sunshine to rain and fog….Omg could things really get any worse…
The next morning i looked out of my window and my heart broke to see him on his side, after lots of tears and a huge struggle i got him up and supported him whilst he ate and drank. Tears of total heart break fell from my eyes onto his face each time he went down …I wanted to scream as no one wanted to help us
i called so many different people, from vets to horse hospitals and got the words
“sorry can’t help, or your not in my area”
I ached from head to toe after trying with all my strength to get the lad to his feet and off his side, which was no easy task for me, so poor wazza with a crutch and his leg strapped up did as much as he could….No chance to rest it as told by the hospital
We went out and bought him a coat and lots of much needed bits to keep him warm in the hope that heat would help, but he seemed to be getting worse

We massaged his legs and supported him as much as we could…..But i had this horrible sad feeling and really began to ask myself
“Were we doing the right thing”
Such a horrid feeling when you have a life in your hands that is so helpless
But i could not give up…I loved this little boy with all my heart

Thurs 12th march

I woke early, again i could not sleep……
What would the day bring…..I was trying hard to be strong…
I looked out of my window and yes he was down and on his side…
As i walked up the field to him i called him and i could see him moving

I struggled big style to get him to his feet….But i did and i kept him up for a good hour making sure he ate and drank….But i had a very sad heart and feared we could do nothing for him….
In afternoon wazza got him to his feet and again made sure he ate and drank…but then he went down and was on his side…
I got on the phone again to the vets….
I went to all the nearest farm animal stores to try and get some form of a hoist, no joy so my vet said he will lend me one, its a net one which we are not to happy with but its a start…
we then drove to our last port of call, an old farmer who helped us out once in the past…
We told him the score and he could see my sadness….He is *hopefully going to drive his loader to ours in the morn and help us move him to an indoor area where we can build some kind of a hoist to get him up more using the roof joists as support…as my back is feeling the strain hugely …
After we got back this afternoon i rushed to see my boy and he laid on his side, he lifted his head when he saw me and his little face brought me to tears again…..I tried with all my might to get him to his feet and could not…..So i went and got a rope…..I put it under his neck, lifted his head to a point he could get on his front legs and i pulled with all my strength….I used his tail to lift and balance him….
AND HE WAS UP….
I stayed with him and kept him upright for 2 and half hours….He ate loads and drank loads and he mooed a very pityful little moo….
It started to get dark but he was enjoing being upright so i could not leave him…..He loses his balance and ive learnt how to lean into him and keep him steady with his tail….
Then amazing he took a few very unsteady steps forward and that gave me a tiny glimmer of hope…
Poor little lad took his first steps….We stayed with him a while longer but poor little storms was getting very hungry that i had to call it a day….He went down but the little boy was adamant he was staying up and we watched as he got unaided to his feet…
I came in had some tea but could not settle so i went to see…He was sadly on his side, but when he heard me he struggled to get his front upright and i quickly lodged a bale to support him…..He wanted to get up again but it was late and i did not want to overdo it so i turned off the torch so he would settle
He needs to be upright more so i am hoping if we can get him inside and hoist him up, that he will get stronger….if we can achieve this then we can eventually get him outside and help him walk with the aid of a front loader…
PLEASE PLEASE support our fundraising….I love this boy with all my heart and i want nothing more than to see him walk again X

Friday 13th March
I was so pleased to look out of the window and see our boy upright :0) But still to afraid to get to excited in case he takes a turn for the worstI woke early as i could not sleep thinking about little boy…
I dread opening my curtain in fear he is laid out….So lovely to see up sat in an upright position and chewing the cud….I could hear him mooing and my 3 girls ran to the fence to see him….He tried to get to his feet but cant but to see him sitting in the upright position really made me smile…
For a minute i thought to leave him in the field, but my body aches in every single muscle and wazza leg is mending so for safety and our health to i do think he needs to come in,, also if the weather turns it makes it even harder…
We are giving him some herbal potions today in his feed and stax of love….I will video his move both the good and the bad….I am very scared to expect to much in fear there is a turn for the worst, but the feeling i have now is amazing as he has given me hope …
The farmer was booked for today to get him moved indoors so we could create some kind of a hoist system….
But the boy seemed so much better
The farmer looked at him and gave us hope, he had had downed cows and he felt that we could do something with our boy …we had hope