Rescued Calf Becomes Best Friends With Family Dog
The adorable calf was too ill for slaughter, when a loving family stepped in to rescue and nurse him back to full health - now he lives permanently with his human family and his best friend Sky the dog.
John Lewis the rescue calf with his best friend Sky the dog. Credit: The Gentle Barn
An adorable rescued calf has a new best friend - the family dog.
The calf, named John Lewis Thunderheart, was rescued from the slaughterhouse.
After his mother was slaughtered, John Lewis didn’t get enough colostrum to build an immune system and arrived at sanctuary The Gentle Barn at just a week old and fighting for his life with pneumonia.
Credit: The Gentle Barn
It took the sanctuary a lot of love, time and veterinary care to nurse John Lewis back from the brink of death. He moved into their house, breathed from an oxygen tank, and discovered an incredible friendship with the family dog Sky.
"Lewis was so sick, having Sky’s help -- cuddling with him while he slept, cleaning his mouth, just nurturing him I think it's one of the main factors that saved Lewis's life," the sanctuary’s co-founder Ellie Laks told Fox 11 Los Angeles.
"They run all over the yard and tussle. Sky is very mouthy like a puppy and Lewis wonky like a cow, but somehow they make it work and understand each other," Laks added.
John Lewis and Sky the Australian Shepherd share dog beds, toys, and snacks, and will live long, happy lives at The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita, California, run by the family Ellie Laks and Jay Weiner.
Credit: The Gentle Barn
The Gentle Barn also has a second location in Nashville, Tennessee, and a third in St Louis, Missouri. It is their goal to open Gentle Barns in every state so that everyone in America can hug cows, cuddle turkeys, give pigs tummy rubs, and look into the eyes of these animals and know for certain that we are all the same, and deserving of the same rights, respects, and freedoms.
Visit The Gentle Barn’s website to find out more about their sanctuary, and how you can help sponsor John Lewis Thunderheart, or make a general donation towards their life-saving work.
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