‘WE WEREN’T EQUIPPED TO LOOK AFTER A FULLY GROWN COW’
Anne Pitts, 60, from Bedfordshire, and her daughter Annabel, 24, inherited an unusual pet from Anne’s father.
Annabel and I first saw Maisy just after she was born, in 2009. She was a sorry sight: a tiny, motherless calf, wet and shivering. Dad was a farmer with a small beef herd, and one of the new heifers he’d bought had unexpectedly turned out to be pregnant. Sadly, the birth proved fatal for the young mother cow.
Dad didn’t have the facilities for a newborn calf and, not believing she’d survive, he put her on a bed of straw in the garage. Annabel and I lived close by, and we immediately rushed over to see her. She looked so small and pitiful, and we made it our mission to save her.
We hand-fed her, dried her with a hairdryer and installed infrared lights to keep her warm. We were with her constantly, petting and grooming her – and it wasn’t
