Read Sage's Story ^{(In Memoriam)}

Sage was born in the dairy industry, taken away from his mom at birth, and put into a veal crate where he could not move. Sage and another cow, Oliver, were then taken by teenage girls to be raised as part of the 4-H program. He was bottle fed, halter trained, named, and loved, but when he was 12 weeks old, he was brought to the county fair to then go to slaughter. Thankfully, the teenage girls decided to bring them to The Gentle Barn instead of sending them to slaughter. Sage and Oliver were both raised at The Gentle Barn with love, dignity, and respect, and there were lots of other cows their age with whom to play. They healed people in our Cow Hug Therapy program, allowed people to hug them, brush them, and embrace them on our tours, and doled out so much love on our open-to-the-public Sundays. Sage passed away at the age of eight from internal bleeding caused by a ruptured tumor or bleeding ulcer, leaving a 3,000-pound hole in all of our hearts. Sage was like a giant puppy dog: loving, affectionate, gentle, and kind, who opened hearts around the world to the intelligence, affection, and magic of cows.