A peaceful retirement for Lucy

Dear Friends, 

Lucy and her calf (Penelope) are finally home with me.  It took some time for me to buy Lucy and her calf.  Part of it was building a fence on my property.  Today I bought them!  They cost $1600.  This is $700 more than originally priced because both have gained weight, Penelope is now weaned and sold per weight value, and market prices have risen.  I am hoping you all can chip in a little extra.  Thank you so much for your generosity!

Lucy's Story:
Lucy is part of a state owned cannulated cow herd.  She is used for teaching and previously for grazing studies.  I have been working and traveling with her for 7 years. 

Lucy loves her job.  She has taught thousands of kids about the wonders of the rumen and loves their attention.  She is unfazed by crowds or the running around of excited shrieking young children.  She is the gentlest being I know.  She is very careful with her large size—she gets up to 1600 lbs—especially with those of us without such prodigious mass. 

Lucy is part of a working ranch and part of her job is to produce calves.  In her 16, almost 17, years she has produced around 14 calves.  That’s a lot of calves!  This past year, while carrying her calf and after calving, she had two cervical prolapses.  She can never be bred again.  This means she needs to be sold.  And, for an old non-breeding cow we know what this means.  This is part of ranch life and normally I have no problem with this but, I have fallen in love with Lucy and hate the idea of her ending her days in a feed lot.  I would like her to spend the rest of her days with me doing all the things she loves—primarily eating and being groomed, maybe the odd teaching job.

My boss would love to give the cow to me, but there are (necessary) rules and regulations to follow with the state.  Lucy needs to be sold at market value.  As a cull cow with a calf, her present market value (a good one) is around $900.  Her last calf, a heifer, is still on her and has about 3 months before being weaned.  I would like to have Lucy’s last calf and hope to have a part of Lucy around for the rest of my days.

Thank you for any donation.