Changes Come Our Way

Thank you, everyone! You met the second Matching Gift Challenge on Thanksgiving day, November 24, 2022.  We are so thankful to YOU. You have helped us continue our cow protection efforts for the last 32 years. Without you, it would not have been possible. Together we are protecting cows and spreading the knowledge and benefits of compassionate cow care. Thank you for your help and friendship.

Aging Bodies Bring Changes

William E. Dove (ISCOWP president Balabhadra das) has successfully healed from the two operations on his foot.  However, he can no longer host guests as he did in past years. William used to be the main host taking guests to meet the cows. His agility and reflex responses are just not what they used to be. He will be 77 years old in April and has had 1 heart attack, 2 strokes, a heart pacer, open heart surgery with one heart valve replacement and one heart valve repair, Guillian Barre Syndrome, from which he had to fight his way out of 98 percent paralysis, 2 foot operations, high blood pressure, and various other smaller health challenges. In short,  the ISCOWP staff, specifically Lakshmi (our daughter) and Balaji (our grandson) are responsible for showing guests to cows. Balabhadra will be available for discussion and information.

Our main concern here is safety. Our policy will be to always have 2 staff members on hand for guest visits, in addition to Balabhadra, if he is available.  Lakshmi and Balaji have proven their prowess in cow emergencies, and therefore we feel confident about their ability to host guests. Usually, the cows are relaxed, and there are no safety problems.  We will also be asking everyone to sign release forms. If you are interested in visiting, you must make an appointment notifying us of your desire to visit at least 48 hours in advance. There will be times when we can not accommodate you due to insufficient staff. This visiting policy begins on January 15, 2023.

Adopters Come to Visit Their Cows

We had a brief window of opportunity to host guests during the Thanksgiving holidays. Take a peek at their videos.

Actually, both groups of adopters came on the same day, and in the early morning, right before the first group came, the story of Lila’s missing horn began to unfold. Read Lila’s story and watch her video in the last article of this e-newsletter.

New Website Theme

We must keep up with the latest technology if we want to spread the knowledge of cow protection. Our website is WordPress based, which makes it easier to update for our staff who have minimal technical knowledge. WordPress has made some changes, and our website’s theme (foundation) was incompatible with the changes. Therefore, we had to change the theme. This would be like moving house and trying to fit your old furniture into the new space. So we made many changes to the site, but it still is recognizable and similar to the old site. After many, many hours, we are now technically up to date. So, that is the reason why if you go to iscowp.org you will see some differences.

The Story of Lila’s Missing Horn

“During a recent vet visit, Balaji noticed some blood dripping from Lila’s horn.  We decided to try and get a closer look before making the call about bringing her out of the herd.  Balaji took some pictures and texted them to me, and I showed them to our vet. Dr. Jill diagnosed Lila with a cracked horn. She felt Lila needed hands-on care and should be pulled from the herd for closer inspection and the safety of everyone involved. We moved Lila into the barn and gave her heavy antibiotics and pain medicine. She had an extremely high chance of keeping her horn intact and in shape. Lila hated being separated from the herd and started having a meltdown. So, our vet made the call to let her into the herd.

Five days later, we were doing the morning herd check and found Lila with her face covered in blood and her horn sheath off her horn. Everything inside her horn was exposed. The horn was spraying blood and bubbling. It was a mess, blood was dripping everywhere. But she was extremely calm, just licking her nose.

So we ran up to the house in the ATV to get the Blood Stop Powder and flour to stop the bleeding. As we came out of the office, we saw Lila running from the back pasture with the herd mooing, galloping, and bumping into her.  They were trying to help her, but their ruckus prevented us from getting close to her. While we were trying to separate them, I noticed a large chunk of her horn was missing. A good 6 to 8 inches.  Balaji and I got Lila into smaller pastures with gates closed behind each one, so there were fewer cows to deal with in each pasture. Eventually, we had it down to Lila, Abhay, and Vegan Indira. Finally, Lila had a small pasture by herself, within close sight of the herd.

We gave her time to calm down, gather our supplies and reach out to our vet by text. Most of Lila’s horn was starting to clot, but we put Blood Stop Powder on the still bleeding parts. We also gave extra painkillers and then alfalfa cubes as a treat. We eventually set her up in the hospital yard with access to water, the barn, food, and part of the pasture, without bothering Nara or having the babies bang into her horn.  You can see a little bit in the video of her situation in the hospital yard.

As an added safety measure, Dr. Jill, our vet, recently came to visit Lila.  She said the nub where her horn was may or may not grow into a horn.  However, if her horn grows, it will be strong, but the shape and length are yet to be determined. Right now, she is calm and happy in her paddock in the hospital pasture. She has cows always close to her to keep her company.” Written by Lakshmi Dove