Posted on Jun 14, 2017
By Ellie Laks, Founder of The Gentle Barn
In California we dewormed all our cows. It was a very lengthy, involved process for us and the animals. We took plenty of time making sure the cows had plenty of time to figure things out without feeling afraid. The cows who have done it before went through the process quite easily, but the younger cows who had never done it before and the cows still working on trusting people took a little longer to stand still for their medicine and annual vet exam. We are relieved it's done for the year and happy that all our cows are healthy and cared for.
Jay flew to Tennessee this week to escort Dudley to the hospital to have his residual limb checked out. He has outgrown his prosthesis and developed a sore on the bottom of his limb. Before we can create a new, larger prosthesis we needed to have the bovine experts at UT Large Animal Vet Hospital Knoxville check him out. Dr. Anderson concluded that the skin on the bottom of his amputation is no longer viable and Dudley needs a skin graft. So this week he had his skin graft surgery, was measured for his new prosthesis, put in a cast, and will be sent home on Friday. It will take him several weeks to heal, but once this is over, he should have a much stronger, healthier, more usable residual limb and a brand new fitting prosthesis.
In Missouri we are continuing with the escrow process. The St. Louis Six continue to thrive at their temporary foster home. Please continue to donate on our website for fencing, the set up of the barns, and the cows' naming. Thank you so much for being in this with us and helping us bring them home!