Things didn’t look good for a pregnant cow at a Hudson ranch last week.
“She was definitely in a bad way, so we thought we were going to have to put her down,” said Sgt. Troy Law with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office Agriculture Unit.
Pasco Deputy Thomas Smith showed up and found the cow on the verge of drowning in a pond. A man was desperately trying to hold her head above the water.
“He was getting distressed. He was getting fatigued. He couldn’t hold her up any longer. He was crouched down in the water,” said Smith.
Smith used a little ingenuity, finding a log nearby. He brought it back so the cow’s head could be propped up out of the water. That bought them some time, and then as reinforcement arrived, the group put straps around the cow and pulled her to safety. But with the cow weighing in at more than 1,200 pounds, it wasn’t easy.
“Dealing with the muck, slipping, we got her out,” said Smith.
With some help from the Agriculture Unit and a veterinarian, the cow got back up on her feet and started breathing normally.
It didn’t look good early on, but in the end, the cow is healthy again and expected to give birth soon.
“I talked to the rancher earlier today. (The cow) is doing good. We think she’s going to have a normal birth. You feel good you didn’t have to put her down,” said Law. “It's always good to get an animal call once in a while because they are easier to deal with than people sometimes,” said Smith.
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