It was mid-August 2023, in triple-digit heat, when the ASPCA, at the request of the Midlothian Police Department, assisted in the rescue of 150 dogs and puppies, as well as six cows, from a half-acre dirt lot in Ellis County, Texas, southwest of Dallas.

The dogs were transported to local placement partners (animal welfare organizations) as well as to the ASPCA Cruelty Recovery Center in Ohio for treatment and evaluation. Many went into foster care and were ultimately adopted.

But what to do with six cows? The ASPCA sometimes receives cruelty complaints and assists in cases involving farm animals, but they are rare compared to cases involving dogs, cats or horses.

Lou Guyton, Vice President of Relocation and Placement for the ASPCA, raised her hand. She and her partner, Sandy, live on seven acres about an hour from the rescue site. Experienced foster caregivers for cats, dogs, farm animals and equines, Lou and Sandy agreed to foster the animals for at least six weeks.

ASPCA Photo

“They were dehydrated and hungry when they were rescued,” Lou says. “They had no appropriate feeding or watering system—a barren pasture and only two five-gallon buckets for water.”

The owners of the animals were arrested, and criminal charges are still pending.

The rescued herd, a Scottish breed known as Belted Galloway cattle, have a white “belt” of fur that circles their bodies. Their coats—black or red, and thick—are more suitable for cold, harsh climates than extreme heat. Belted Galloways were once considered a heritage breed and remain so in the United States, where in 2015 their number was less than 1,500, according to Wikipedia. 

ASPCA Photo

A veterinarian performed extensive physical exams and dewormed the herd, as several exhibited signs of intestinal parasites. Their hooves had grown out and needed care. Bruce, a black-and-white bull, spent an entire week with a veterinarian who patiently trimmed his hooves. One cow, whom they named Lena Horn for her horns, was found to be pregnant, with a due date of late November or early December. They named the second bull Pete, and the heifers Laverne, Shirley and Gail.

The results of receiving proper watering and food were soon obvious.

“While they were with us, they consumed an average of 100 gallons of water every 24 hours among the six of them,” Lou says. “You could tell within three days how much better they felt.”

Both Lou and Sandy knew that placing the cattle would be a challenge, so they began contacting people in their inner circle almost immediately.

Sandy reached out to Carrie Dodson, with whom she’d formerly worked on multiple large horse rescue cases in North Texas. Both Carrie and Sandy, as well as Lou, have worked with local animal welfare organizations in North Texas for decades, helping foster and find placement for hundreds of companion animals and farm animals.

Carrie, a former schoolteacher, serves as district manager of the Gateway Groundwater Conservation District in Quanah, Texas, and is a professional photographer. She had extensive experience with cattle and was eager for a small herd that would be perfect natural caretakers for her north Texas prairie pastures.

“It’s the perfect partnership, and it’s what cattle do best,” says Carrie, who drove to Mansfield on October 25 to pick up the six (soon to be seven) animals.

“They’re all going to be pets,” Carrie says. “Plus, I get to see them every day, and my neighbors love seeing them every day, too.”

“If it has four legs and hair, I’ve raised it, adopted it or fostered it,” says Carrie, a lifelong animal lover who lives on 55 acres between Wichita Falls—where she grew up—and Amarillo. 

Carrie says her new herd is “fat, friendly and happy” on their diet of coastal Bermuda hay and bluestem grass. 

On December 2, Lena Horn gave birth to a bull calf. One hundred of Carrie’s Facebook friends suggested potential names. She ultimately chose Moo, a.k.a. Tiny Moo. In a video Carrie shared with the ASPCA, Tiny Moo stares at the camera, then at his mother, then back at the camera—then moos loudly—milking it for all it’s worth.

“We lucked out,” says Lou. “These cattle are in really good hands.”

Cowabunga!