Forrest Needs A New Shelter

Forrest Gump came to the sanctuary at 5 days of age, 8.5 years ago.

He was rescued from a dairy farm where he'd been born with a severe case of contracted tendons (a condition that makes it impossible to stand).

It took some weeks of our brand of physiotherapy, but he finally could walk and run

However, as is the case with steers, especially Holsteins, he just kept growing... He's now about 6'3" or 4" and weighs approximately #3,000.

For reference, I (standing next to him) am 5' 7".

There are many challenges with having an animal this large. He has to be sedated by a vet to have his hooves trimmed, while the cattle trimmer does the trim.

Plus Forrest eats a gigantic amount of hay but does not get grain because of the very real danger of bloat and/or urinary calculi.

Between hay, straw, vet bills, and trimming, he's a very expensive boy. But he's so loved and is a wonderfully gentle giant.

However, he's grown out of 5 different shelters. The last one was supposed to be temporary, but he decided to lie down against part of it and now it's dangerous for him to be in there.

So, what was supposed to be done soon is now urgent.

He needs a shelter that will last him for the rest of his life.

The plans are for a 12' x 16', 3 sided shelter covered by aluminum (we have been on evacuation once because of wildfires and need to keep possible embers at bay).

Of course, it needs to be extremely skookum for this extremely skookum boy.

We've had two quotes and the best one has come to $12,000.

It's a huge amount, but if ever there was a bovine who deserves it, it's Forrest.

He managed to avoid the bullet that had his name on it, at the dairy, and we're working hard to give him the best life possible.