Ramsey was born in August of 2012 and just turned 3 years old over the summer. As one of the best milk producers in the barn and a cow that regularly scored in the mid to high 80's on her classification evaluations, she was certainly considered an outstanding dairy cow at Witter. She was also known throughout the barn for her mischievous attitude and her knack for escaping.
Whenever the cows were turned out for some fresh air and exercise, Ramsey's favorite thing to do was come back inside, duck under the chains, and meander down the aisle to the horse barn and (her favorite) the hay bales. We all quickly learned that when the cows were let back into the dairy barn, Ramsey MUST get clipped in first - if you turned your back on her for an instant, you would regret it! She had a playful attitude and just enough sass to keep things interesting. Some mornings, she would kick the unit off during milking just to keep me on my toes. Despite her quirks, she was the favorite cow of many milkers in the barn, myself included.
Ramsey's passing has been very difficult for all of us UMAD COWS milkers, especially because we still do not know what caused her death. Despite the best efforts of our vet and all of the tests, the answer remains hidden from us. However, we can find solace in the fact that we cared for her to the best of our abilities and we were able to humanely give her relief from her suffering after a grueling battle.
On the day before she passed away, Ramsey had no less than fifteen loving visitors who came to say goodbye and sit in the chilly barn with her. Ramsey was a fighter, and even when she was in pain her spirit still shone through. We will miss her dearly and will mourn the loss of such a strong cow.
In this season of thanksgiving, I do want to end on a more positive note.
This experience with Ramsey has made me realize how truly blessed we are, as students, to have such a wonderful herd of cows with which to work. Not only are they our teachers, they are also our friends and our companions. Each of our girls has a personality and a story, and as the semester has progressed we have learned to appreciate them. We are truly fortunate to be given the chance to care so deeply about our cows that it hurts to lose them. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the chance to have loved and lost such a wonderful girl.
As Winnie the Pooh once said, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Rest in Peace, Ramsey.
8/11/12 - 11/24-15