11-16-09

After a long drive Jason and Tawnee arrived at the Petaluma Livestock Auction, not really planing an rescuing calf.

This is a livestock auction, and Tawnee had in the back of her mind that there would be day old calves there. About a week ago she watched a video by the Humane Society of the United States which showed the absolute horror of an infant calf slaughter house. So many people think that drinking milk doesn't hurt the animals. Only cows that have given birth produce milk. One of the "byproducts," male calves, are more often than not sent to become veal. This video will change your life, but it is very hard to watch. A graphic warning for those that cannot bare to watch animals being butchered alive. They are only babies too. Click here or click the picture below.

Of course, at the auction there is the pen that holds the day old calves. Heart wrenching!

One little calf in particular caught Tawnee's sympathetic eye. He looked a lot like a calf she raised when she was a little girl. When Tawnee was little, her and her mom would go to auctions and buy day old calves. Sadly, all the ones from auctions died from being too weak because of being torn away from their moms at birth. One calf Tawnee did successfully raised was from a dairy that allowed their calves to nurse for a few days before selling them.

The goats, sheep and pigs had been sold off, when a man came into the calf pen and started stirring them up to get them ready for the sale ring. Tawnee made a mad dash for her seat in the auction ring. She sat down, a couple calves went through, and then one special little guy came in and Tawnee just had to spend some of her pocket change to buy him for only $5.

On the way back to the rescue, Jason and Tawnee stopped to check on everyone in the trailer. The little calf was very hungry, but all we had was water. The calf was sucking on Tawnee's fingers, so she brought the water bottle up and it drank it with glee.

The sun was setting as they drove back to the rescue.

At the first Tractor Supply they came to, they stopped to get the milk replacer for the calf and a bottle. Once again, not using rescue funds. It's pretty sad that just the bottle to feed the calf was about as much as the calf.

The baby was so incredibly happy to get some milk in his tummy. Baby's are supposed to eat regularly, not be pulled from their mommy's at birth, tossed in the back of a trailer, dumped at an auction where they are shoved and pushed around for hours on end.

The calf now named Parcy: Tawnee is not entirely sure what the future is for this cute little guy, but she couldn't sit back and let him suffer the fate that is seen in the video when only $5 was in between him suffering or not. He has a limp one of his hind legs, no doubt from being drug around.

Little Parcy is sleeping peacefully now and is waiting for a new day and a new adventure. Tawnee says if we keep going to auctions with day old calves, there needs to be a fund named "The First Gift of Love." Saving these babies from a terrible death and giving them one of love and compassion is the least we could do. They're only babies!