DEXTER CATTLE – JOY, LAUGHTER, AND HEARTBREAK – SWEET CAROLINE (Part 2)

Sweet Caroline was out. Walking free through acres and acres of fields freshly sewn or just sprouted crops. It wasn’t that I couldn’t see her, as I could. The area is flat and wide open. Of course, when you are trying to pen a heifer, that doesn’t help at all.

I felt helpless. My truck was still attached to my trailer. My first thought was to take car and follow her in an effort to push her to a farm near by who happened to have a corral. I was offered to borrow a car of the owner of the farm so that we wouldn’t lose her by taking time to remove the trailer from the truck.

Myself and the sister-in-law of the person who was buying Sweet Caroline jumped in the car and attempted to follow her. It wasn’t hard. She was easily seen. It became more of a game of finding a fence and a corral to get push her towards it. Following the country roads and keeping an eye on Sweet Caroline, we found ourselves near a farm that was fenced and cattle in the pasture. We pulled into the farm and knocked on the door.

A very nice gentleman answered and after explaining the situation, he volunteered to assist. He knew of the local farmers, who had corrals, cattle, and who did not. The idea was to put a halter on her, if possible, and then walk her to a fenced area. If she wouldn’t take a halter, and she is not haltered trained, the plan was to push her to the fenced area.

Great plan, right? Sounds easy, right? It wasn’t. Did I mention it was over 90 and humid? Not ideal conditions for Sweet Caroline or me.

Sweet Caroline was proving to be a lot smarter than I originally gave her credit. We could get close to her, pet her, but she would not take a halter. She learned, quickly, that we were pushing her so she took the approach of walking towards us, and then going in the direction where we previously came. I know you are laughing. I was not.

She followed us to a small farm. The house appeared abandoned as was the cattle barn. Unfortunately there was not an area that was fenced. The cattle ban was wide open. More like a lean to than a barn. A large one at that. She walked into the barn. I suppose it was shade. Spirits were lifted but there was no where to contain her.

Our volunteer farmer had called in a favor and another farmer joined us with his 4 wheeler. I had more hope. We had her against the wall when I started to walk towards the car. I wanted to get the trailer.

I didn’t get 50 yards, when the inevitable happened. She ran right towards the farmers and the sister-in-law and back into the fields. She wasn’t charging them and certainly wasn’t trying to hurt them, but she sure wasn’t worried if they got in the way.

Then an error was committed. As I went back to get the truck and trailer, they followed her. And pushed her. 4 wheeler was right next to her. Following. She kept walking until she came upon a large wooded area. She disappeared in the thick woods and brush. While the effort was valiant, the only thing that was retrieved in the woods that day were scratches and ticks. My iWatch showed that I walked 12 miles that day. At that point, I felt I had no choice. Exhausted and growing dark, I went home. I got home at 1:30AM.

Facebook was active. People were looking. People were talking and spreading the word. The Sheriff had been notified and a report filed. In that little town, Sweet Caroline was somewhat of a celebrity. It was Thursday. I waited for a call. It never came.

On Friday, I was becoming desperate to doing something. Anything. On a whim, I called the County Animal Shelter. A lady answered. I mentioned I lost a heifer. She immediately knew who I was and said it was all over Facebook. Many were anxiously awaiting an update.

I asked for options. She said that there was a drone operator in Illinois who runs a business looking for lost animals. A drone? Would he help with a cow? I called. He answered. My luck was about to change.

Next week, Part 3. Sweet Caroline has been found. How in the heck am I going to catch her? Call in the cowboys.

A little bit about the author. I own and operate a small farm called “Our Yellowstone LLC” in Illinois. I couldn’t do it alone, but will keep my wife’s name out of it to protect her innocence.