Name: Loretta

Species: Bovine

Breed: Registered Milking Shorthorn

I thought it only right to dedicate our first “Meet the Herd” post to Loretta, seeing as it’s her birthday! Loretta came to us just under a year ago as a sweet, 10 day old bottle calf.

You know how they say alcoholics shouldn’t go to a bar, and shopohics shouldn’t go to a mall, because the temptations are too high? Well, “cow-o-holics” probably shouldn’t be in cattle Facebook groups…

I was in Canton, TX at the First Monday Trade Days last fall, and was scrolling through Facebook. Up pops this photo of a Shorthorn heifer bottle calf for sale in Arkansas. I immediately ask for more information; then I text a screenshot to my husband. I had worked a few nights for my mom to earn some extra Canton spending money prior to our trip, and wouldn’t you know it, the spending money I earned was the exact amount they were asking for this cute calf.

I’ll save you all of the gory details, but the basics of why I shouldn’t have gotten her are:

• My husband thought I was crazy.
• Bottle calves don’t have the best survival rate.
• She was located over 3 hours from our farm.
• Purchasing her would mean traveling 6 hours round trip, the day I got back from a Texas trip.
• I didn’t have our barn set up for a bottle calf.
• Bottle calves are a huge time commitment, and my job is notorious for keeping me busy for late nights and overnight trainings.

The basics that won my argument to purchase her:

• I’m already in love with her.
• I earned the exact amount I needed; God knew I needed her.
• I’m obsessed with Shorthorns.
• My husband knows it’s slightly pointless to argue with me over animals (just wait until you hear the story on Denim Dog.)

So obviously we brought her home. Henryetta the goat is her BFF. She has made countless trips to schools and loves attention from the kids. Most of all, she LOVES bread.