Love Reunited

 We rescued a dairy cow in Tennessee this week. She was impregnated each year, had her babies taken away every year, and the breast milk taken for humans. Thankfully she belonged to a family who wanted to see her retire after her years of service instead of being sent to slaughter. We heard about her and offered to take her home to The Gentle Barn where she could have the retirement she deserved.
We were told that the last time she had a baby was 9 months ago, but that they no longer had the baby. We brought her home, named her Maybelle, and told her we would love and take great care of her for the rest of her life.
For two days Maybelle paced, kept looking over our fences and cried. Everything about her seemed like she was calling a baby. Even though we were told she didn’t have a baby, Maybelle was telling us otherwise. So we listened to our instincts and went back to the farm to double check. Sure enough they did have her baby in a separated area being raised for slaughter. We begged to have him and after much negotiation were able to bring him home to The Gentle Barn to be reunited with his mom.
Maybelle is an amazing mom, she’s nurturing, loving and strong. She allows her son to explore and play, but when he gets too far she calls him back with a moo and he comes running. She doesn’t believe us quite yet, but Maybelle will soon understand that from now on her baby belongs to her forever, and that we see her as a sentient being deserving of respect, safety and love!
Maybelle will become a very important ambassador at The Gentle Barn with the foster children we host. They have been torn apart from their homes as well and are looking to either be reunited or find an adoptive forever home. Maybelle and her son will give them hope that family is possible when you never give up!
The Gentle Barn is located in Santa Clarita, California and in Knoxville, Tennessee. We are home to rescued animals and host to at risk, inner city, and special needs kids. We also do school field trips, birthday parties, and are open to the public on the weekends. Come hug the cows, feed the horses carrots, cuddle the turkeys, give the pigs tummy rubs, and so much more!
For more info you can also email them at info@gentlebarn.org or call them at 661-252-2440.