You ready for it?
- We got an email asking us to help with
a zebu calf who was born with no use of her back legs.
- Hi! Oh, thanks for the kisses.
A little spa day for you.
- We didn’t know much about zebus at that point.
Only that they were some sort of cow.
Our mission is to rescue animals
that are born with genetic ailments,
or they’re ill and unfit.
We had to make sure that our vet
was willing to work with zebus.
They’re kind of a rare breed.
- Angel does not have the ability to extend
or flex the muscles in her rear limbs.
They are in a locked position.
- We did get a second opinion,
and she confirmed that surgery wasn’t an option for her.
- She wasn’t moving a whole lot.
She wouldn't get up and walk around.
There was one day we were just kind of holding her back end up,
and immediately she just started walking.
Like her front legs were just going really fast.
And so from then on we knew that she had that fight in her.
Knew that she wanted to run,
and that she had that energy to do it.
We were ready to get her a cart.
- I had different hopes.
I thought the cart was going to be a setback for Angel.
But there was no setback for her.
Angel’s cart is rented, so it's not a perfect fit
since it is made for dogs.
The cart is a little bit unlevel
because her body isn’t shaped exactly like a dog.
We definitely want to introduce her
to the outside world as much as possible,
because that’s what’s natural for her.
But I feel like right now
she is probably a housebound cow.
Good morning, baby.
Are you going to go?
Get you in your cart.
You’re all set.
Angel has kind of her inside family.
She loves the dogs.
- Davey’s a gentle giant.
He’s kind of a lazy dog.
Angel likes to lick his ears.
Just lay there and look at her.
Sawyer is a little spunky dog.
He gets bursts of energy when Angel comes around.
They start playing together,
And kind of throws his head around a little bit.
And it works out great because that’s exactly how Angel plays.
She may be a little confused
thinking that they’re cows too.
Or that she’s a dog maybe.
And then there’s Jet, the cat.
Angel loves Jet,
loves to clean Jet’s ears.
And Jet will lay there and tolerate it.
She loves doing her little puzzle
to find her grain.
I think she really enjoys it.
The single most thing that excites Angel
has got to be her bottle.
It is like pure joy.
Oh, look at that milk mustache.
Cows like Angel tend to buck when they're excited,
which she does, which isn’t perfect
for the wheels she’s in.
But eventually it will need to
go bigger than it can right now.
So as she grows, her cart will grow,
and we’ll get something kind of custom made for her.
A custom cart for her would mean the best mobility,
and more comfort for her, really.
- All right Angel, let’s get you outside.
The ground,
she doesn’t get around as well out there.
The wheels,
she can’t really get a lot of traction.
There’s a lot more obstacles when we have her outside.
- Since Angel is a miniature zebu,
and handicapable,
she wouldn’t necessarily fit in with our herd.
And obviously it just wouldn’t be fair to her
to throw her out there with the rest of those large animals.
Watching her watch the other animals walking all around her,
and she can’t necessarily do that on her own.
It kind of breaks my heart.
I don’t know if it breaks hers,
because she doesn’t know any different.
- With all of the animals that we have
we’ve seen them build friendships and relationships.
So we want to give her that same life.
- We have a blind calf,
and her name is Ellie.
She has a seeing eye calf, Pumpkin
to kind of show her around.
Our boys were kind of curious about Angel.
But Angel just doesn't have the confidence,
in her little heart,
to play too much with Pumpkin or Ellie for that matter.
Best case scenario she will be kind of their third wheel.
As long as she is not super comfortable in her cart,
and is relatively small,
it’s just not an option to put her out with the big cows.
Sleep tight.
Good night.
Angel hasn’t been outside for
gosh, probably six weeks now.
But the weather we’re having right now,
a foot of snow on the ground,
it’s not ideal for her.
Being inside for this past winter,
like all of us she’s getting antsy to get outside.
- She’s almost doubled in size.
She’s at the point now
to have the first wheelchair.
It just doesn’t fit her as well.
- You are getting chubby.
This afternoon we’ll be going to Iowa State
to make her a full customizable cart,
and one that she can hopefully grow into.
- Compared to where Angel began without a cart
to where she is now,
that was a big comeback right away.
But for us to be able to get her a customizable cart
that is going to give her even more independence than she has now,
I think that that is going to be a huge comeback for her.
- Hello. -Hey Shawn.
- How’s it going? - Good. How are you doing today?
- Doing well.
- When I first saw Angel today she looked great.
I was very excited to see how bright she was.
She looked strong.
We want to get her into a new cart sooner rather than later.
She probably could
compensate in the smaller cart for a little bit longer,
but it might get so uncomfortable for her
that we might have some diminishing returns.
She might not want to be in it as much,
and she might not be as active.
My hope is that if we can get her into a cart
that’s a little bit higher,
so she’s in a little bit more of a normal position,
she’ll want to continue to keep moving.
So the sooner we can correct her positioning,
the sooner we can get her in her new wheels,
hopefully we'll be able to continue her activity levels.
- She’s like a model right now. - Yeah.
Where you going?
You going to walk right past the nanner?
Angel’s been doing really well the past month.
Look what we got.
When we saw her new cart get delivered we were super excited.
How does that feel?
Compared to her first cart,
the second cart is a much better fit.
It is different in significant ways.
The wheels can adjust more,
new pads for where her legs go through.
The same color pink.
Just it definitely fits her a lot better.
Come on, Angel.
It was probably
gosh, months before we ever heard her moo.
(Angel moos)
You don’t even sound like a lady when you do that.
- She seems to be a lot more comfortable.
- She’s definitely happy.
- With the weather being so cold here in Iowa,
we haven’t been able to get Angel out.
It’s finally getting into the fifties,
and finally the sun is coming out.
So today we’re planning on getting Angel outside
with Pumpkin and Ellie.
We’re going to get them into a small pasture,
give them some grass,
and we’re going to have them playing together.
You could tell right away that she was more confident getting around.
There she is. Aw.
When the cows rub their heads together,
it’s a sign of affection.
You’re being so sweet.
You going to start licking her now, Angel?
- I think it will be great for her to spend more time with Ellie and Pumpkin
outside in the sunshine
rather than being cooped up in the house all day.
- This is a bit of a rough terrain here.
What are we going to do?
There you go.
Off-road!
- Today she was just so confident in her cart,
it was like a whole new cow out there playing with Pumpkin and Ellie.
Angel inspires me every day.
She was dealt kind of a bad hand,
and to see what she can do,
it just makes me want to do more.
And if nothing else it makes me want to do better for her.
- Seeing the progress
of where she started and where she is now,
it’s a good feeling.
Knowing that we’re giving her the best life possible that she could have.
So to see her be able to get out,
walk through the grass, go through the mud.
It’s evidence of her comeback,
and her having the most normal life that she possibly could.
- She’ll get her time with the other animals
that are like herself, outside.
And then she gets to come in
and sleep in the luxury king-size bed at night.
Such a beggar.
So it really will be the best of both worlds for her.