09 Dec 2004
Wulfie, RIP

Well, it seems pretty strange to put up an obit for a cow, but GOF Wolfram (her offical, registered name) was a special beast. She was exported from her birthplace in 1995 to Eagle Creek Cattle Co. in Warsaw, Indiana. We acquired her last year, despite her age (she was calved 6/1/1987) because we got a really good deal, and she was an awesome looking beast. She was also bred, which calf is now Hammerstead Chip - our herd sire.

This August, however, Wulfie developed a summer pneumonia , which she just couldn't shake. As the fall got damper, arthritis developed - but she was still trying, still had some fight in her, so we didn't do what, in hindsight, probably would've been the kindest thing. As long as she was fighting, we'd support her - and she didn't give up. Until last night.

I noticed this morning that she'd not eaten last night, and she made no motion to go for her fresh hay this morning. I took a farm tour around today about noon, and she was still in her stall, not really moving much at all, just standing and looking out. I fed the goats about 4, and threw some fresh hay to her, but she made no move for it. When I went back out at 5 to open the goat stall, she was dead.

We'll have a fine pair of drinking horns soon, but frankly, I'd rather have had her for a couple of more years, and would really have liked to have gotten a heifer out of her. Tomorrow I have to either find a renderer to haul the carcass away, or figure out some way for me to get a thousand pounds of dead cow into the back of my Chevy S10. Hopefully the former option will work out, but in any event, Wulfie will be missed.

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