Recently, we took a cow (Independence) and one of her grown calves (Washington) to the butcher. Independence was getting old and wasn't able to raise calves anymore. Washington had always been skittish and would run away any time we got near him.
We were a little concerned about getting him loaded in the trailer. The 3 oldest girls were away helping with preparations at the Mt. Sterling convention grounds, so we had fewer hands to help get him corralled and cornered. We didn't need to worry, though. It was the easiest cattle loading we had ever experienced. I (Tamara) and the rest of the kids weren't home when Todd got home from work, and Todd put a little grain in the front of the trailer, and by the time he walked around to the other side of the trailer, Independence and Washington were already up in the trailer ready to have the door shut. Since it was so easy to load them, and the place we were taking them has good gates and pens, Todd just took the two boys along with him to deliver the cattle to the processing plant. We figured he'd be in and out and on his way home in a jiffy!
Emily, Heidi and I stayed home and milked one of our cows and were just getting started on some house cleaning when the phone rang. It was Todd. "The boys are back at the processing plant with one of the people who work there and I'm trying to catch the cows 4 miles away! Can you come help me?!? The girls and I threw some sandwiches together for supper and jumped in the car and headed out - it seemed to take forever to drive the 30 miles to get there. We got to the plant, and the lady who was there told me that Todd had been back to pick up the van and the boys and had headed back out to look for the cattle.
Here is the story according to the boys and Todd:
They backed the trailer up to the pens, opened up the back door and the cattle got out as easy as anything. Then Washington and Independence heard and saw the hog in the next pen over... they'd never seen a hog before and this one had plenty to say. Independence and Washington turned and ran and hit the gate. Todd was holding the gate closed, but he was no match for 2 butchering sized bovine! Then they were all on the run! Independence and Washington, followed by Todd and one of the men who worked at the plant. They were soon joined by half of the town (give or take a few) some on foot, some in vehicles and some on 4-wheelers. The local sheriff even got in on the excitement with his lights flashing. I guess none of them knew that if cattle are on the run, and you start out after them with engines roaring, they're just going to run faster. Anyway, Todd was chasing them on foot and every once in a while someone would stop their vehicle, throw open the door, he'd jump in and go for a while, then he'd jump back out and run some more... By the time the girls and I got there, someone had taken Todd back to the van and he had found Independence and had her calmed down. He was able to catch her by the halter and lead her into the trailer and get her back to the plant. He backed up again, opened the back door, she got out, heard and saw the hog and was ready to head out again! This time we were ready for her and had the gate more secure. She got to spend her last night next to a very talkative hog! We never did find Washington - hopefully he found his way into another herd of cattle and someone else can enjoy his steaks!
(Update - Someone did find and catch Washington, so now we know he isn't out there eating his way through cornfields and walking down the roads)
