Blind cow earns a special place

Standing at the edge of the pasture at Edgar, Ann Lindvall calls, "Girl. Come here, Girl." The cow lifts her head, green grass protruding from her mouth, and plods toward us. Girl is blind, but she follows Ann's voice, and even acknowledged my voice by tilting her head when I called her name. Girl has earned a special place in Ann & Ron Lindvall's hearts since her rough birth 8 years ago.

The Lindvalls knew Girl's mother was ready to give birth, but they couldn't be present immediately and hoped that since she was a young heifer they would be back in time. When they returned though, the heifer had already given birth, and Ann says she was "overzealous."  She prodded the calf, trying to force it to stand before it was ready. The Lindvalls took the calf away and put it in a "hotbox," a convection-heated doghouse-type structure that they frequently used to warm calves.

 Normally a calf taken from its mother would be returned within a half-hour and things would be fine, but they didn't have high hopes this calf would survive. She was making the 'death bawl' and they expected she had some broken ribs when they could hear her breathing. Ron milked out the heifer and fed the calf through a tube for a few days. Ann started calling the calf "Girl" right away and they brought her into town where Ann fed her with a bottle. Girl's eyes were normal at first, but soon they turned white and she developed 'dry socket' that the Lindvalls suspect may have been from the long period that she spent in the hotbox.

The first summer they kept her in the 7-acre pasture behind their home. When winter arrived, Ann wondered how she would get the blind Girl to follow her to shelter until she realized that Girl followed her voice, so she called, and Girl followed.  The Lindvalls are amazed that Girl manages to get through the gate without running into anything. When ice covered most of the ground at the gate opening last winter, Girl refused to cross until Ann led her around it.

When Girl was a year-old, the Lindvalls had a bull that the other bulls wouldn't 'accept.' They just didn't like him, according to Ann.  So Ron held the bull in the pasture with Girl for a short time not expecting anything to happen, but of course, something did. Nine months later, Girl gave birth.

Ann was worried that Girl wouldn't know where the new calf was, so she laid it next to Girl's head and despite her own mother's poor example, Girl has been an excellent mother. She has calved every year but her second and last year she had twins.

Girl has become a very special cow to the Lindvalls. As she approaches the fence, Ann calls  "Whoa, whoa, whoa," and Girl stops. Since her rough start Girl has gotten pretty special care from the Lindvalls, and according to Ann, she has returned that care many times over.