Imagine what it would be like if you lived your entire life in confinement. Your soul purpose was to breed and to produce milk. Obviously, we’re not talking about a human here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t open our hearts to the plight of an adorable cow named Luna, who was born with a disability. Luna is blind, so she’s never seen the sun or the grass. But that doesn’t mean that she couldn’t feel the sun’s warm rays on her body, or feel the grass under her hooves. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for this poor cow. But recently, she got the chance at a brand-new life, and for the first time ever, she was able to experience the world the way she was always meant to.It had been a year since Luna the cow last gave birth, and she couldn’t get pregnant anymore. The cow had spent her entire life living in an industrial dairy farm. She was old and completely blind. This meant, she was at the end of her life cycle.
Since she couldn’t make more babies or lactate, because she was old, she was useless to those who owned her. She was on her way to a slaughterhouse, when the people at the Black Goat Farm and Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada, came to her rescue.
When she arrived, she took her very first steps ever onto the soft green grass. Megan Mostacci, the co-founder of the sanctuary, said, “She was a dairy cow for 12 years. She’s never been outside. She has had at least 10 babies and at this dairy farm they take them away right away.”
Then, all that changed for Luna, thanks to the rescuers. The cow took a couple of cautious steps onto the grounds of the sanctuary. Her joints were swollen because she was kept in a confined space her entire life. But now, she’s sniffing the fresh air with enthusiasm.
“When the truck came there was also a 24-hour-old calf on the truck,” explained Mostacci. “That farm doesn’t raise them so she was a burden. She was taken from her mama as soon as she was born.” The baby calf ran around and stretched her legs with excitement.
She had a newborn calf with her that the rescuers named Zoey. The calf wasn’t hers, but it was the next best thing. The two formed a bond. Then, Mostacci overheard the old cow and calf mooing to each other across the barn’s aisle at night. “So we let baby out to sniff Mama over the stall door,” shared Mostacci.
Rescuers couldn’t allow the tiny calf to remain alone with Luna because she’s blind. But they had no intention of keeping them apart either. Instead, they allowed the calf to visit the elderly cow six times a day.
There was no way of knowing what the two animals were thinking about their new surroundings, but it seemed obvious that the animals were breathing a lot easier now. And Luna’s maternal instincts were in full gear, which was great, because the baby calf still needed help.
This gave the calf and Luna the chance to meet the other animals in the sanctuary. But, Mostacci and her husband are hoping to complete what they call a cow haven that will allow all the animals to live happily ever after.
Life may have started out rough for Luna, Zoey, and the other animals in the sanctuary, but everyone seems to be in good spirits now that they’ve gotten a taste of freedom in this haven full of wide-open spaces. Here’s Zoey enjoying her freedom and meeting some new friends.