OPINION? EVERYBODY HAS ONE: Helping a neighbor surely is easier in warm weather

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Neighbor called and woke me up this morning. He had a cow he knew was gonna have to be loaded to go to the vet and she was down in the lot. I always am ready to help a neighbor with cattle problems and I got up and dressed pretty quick. My close relative had the coffee brewing by the time I got to the kitchen. I started the pickup and ran back in. It was cold and I hadn’t expected it to be so dang bone chilling! Got a thermos of hot coffee and hit the road. The pickup was warm and I was sure enough glad.

If you have ever had a downed cow that you have to get up you can appreciate the agony of the job. I do mean agony because it is for the cow and the cattleman, or men, trying to do something with her. We got her rolled over on the old baler belts we had rigged up, lifted her to the trailer and worked for 45 minutes to get her in and positioned in order to close the gate. All the time we were working on her she was in labor, but no calf was coming in a natural way.

That old cow was big,about a twelve hundred pounder, and her ancestry was questionable. She was part Gert, I could tell by her ears and color. The other parts were a mystery. I knew she was getting pretty perturbed at us and I couldn’t blame her, but the old hide could have stood up long before she did! Yes, she scrambled around and stood up in the trailer, pretty as you please! I was of the notion to knock her back down, but she didn’t belong to my brand!

My friend asked me to go along with him to the vet just in case something went wrong. I agreed to the request, my better judgment telling me plenty had already gone wrong. I was sweaty under my coat and freezing in exposed areas. My stomach was gnawing on my backbone because it was already almost noon and I had no breakfast. My finger that had been caught in the rope had stopped bleeding and dried blood was all down my arm and sticky. I smelled to the height of heaven and not sweet as a rose, either!

We pulled in to the vet clinic and backed in position to get unloaded. I was out so I could direct the operation and get him in close enough but not too close. I grabbed the tail gate and swung it open so the old broad could step out into the pen and to my surprise she was down.

The vet stepped into the trailer and listened with his stethoscope for a few minutes before turning around and shaking his head. Yep, she was dead and so was the calf.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, feeling sorry for yourself, regardless of how hungry, cold and stinky you are, is wasted energy and pointless. My fellow cattleman lost a big cow and her calf. He had to keep that cow in feed, pay for a bull to service her, pay taxes on the land she grazed on, purchase vet supplies - and all that stuff is not cheap. I could go on, fuel and tires, tractor and on and on, but for your sake I won’t.

I am proud to say I bought his dinner at the local steak house and helped him park the trailer when we got back to his outfit. I will do it again, help out a man in need, but please don’t call me until daylight and warmer weather!

Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 01/02/2013