My Dad Agrees To Drive 600 Miles With A Baby Cow In The Back Seat | Cow Trip x The Dodo

Push, push, push! Come on, you need one more big push! All right, she's pushing. There you go, this is coming. That's me, getting splattered with placenta. This calf here, his odds weren't great. But this is the story of how a bunch of people came together to save him, including my burger-loving dad. It started when I heard about a farm worker who wanted to save one of their calves. So I went up to film their story. Good girl, 22! The baby's mom just kept licking him, and the other moms just kept watching. But he's a boy, and boys in dairy are often sent for beef or veal, while the girls are usually impregnated for milk. Is it a boy? Yeah. The farm had agreed to save this baby, but wanted the mom's milk, so they were still separated. The moms, the older they get, then they know it's about to happen. They know that they're gonna say goodbye. Nikki's her fifth or sixth child. Bye-bye! Some cows get really upset when I'm taking the baby away. They'll pace back and forth looking for him. You guys have to eat! Bye-bye! This is Aileen, who works on the farm and decided to save a calf. I've never worked with cows before. I met my boyfriend. He owns this dairy farm. Working on a dairy farm is hard because you don't get to keep any of the male calves. I learned from my sister that she knew of a sanctuary, and I get to save this one. But the farm needed help driving the calf to the sanctuary. As a filmmaker, sometimes I hear about animals needing help and can't do anything about it. But this time, we could. I called the only guy I know who has a driver's license and is free at 2 p.m. on a Monday. Do you want to rescue a baby cow with me? Yeah! My dad is a doctor who just retired. He's a dog dad, human dad, grandpa. Boy, you're good at pushing all those buttons. He's a volunteer EMT, has lots of hobbies. Have you interacted with cows before? Well, not close. I mean, I've mooed at them and waved. They're pretty stupid. Well, I'm recording this call because I want to make a video about him. So I shouldn't say any nasty words. Let me get to my better view. That's cool. Okay, now I'm self-conscious, so I gotta go. I grew up around dairy farms, so it'll be nice to help a calf. Plus, I recently moved seven hours away, so I'll get to spend some time with my dad. We'll drive with a volunteer to Rosie's Sanctuary in Maryland. Hello! Hey, I assume you know about the second cow? No. Another dairy farm agreed to save another calf. It's so much better to drive with two, so they'll feel safer. So we're driving two calves from two different Vermont dairy farms to a sanctuary in Maryland. So we do need tarp, and we need straw. We have tarp. And your patience, since I'm trying to film on my own. Any other questions? Are we going to be able to stop and get food, or...? Let's get some hamburgers and milkshakes. Oh, this is exciting. I know. I'm digging this. Oh, we have to watch the things we say. F*** you. F*** you, too. Yeah, I bought us a pizza and a cow. Great. Yay. I'd help you, but I'm filming. So the females are always repeatedly impregnated, so that they can provide milk? I didn't think of it like that. In a quarter mile, turn right. We are way up here in Vermont. Checking on the first baby to make sure he's good to travel tomorrow. Yeah, wow. Looks great. It's beautiful. This section is like a little maternity ward. It's kind of nice being a midwife doula for the cow. It's definitely different than a factory farm, where they are confined. This is the robot where all the cows get milked. Oh, it's so weird. Yay! Oh, wow. Looks like he's trying to get up. Yeah. I had no idea. I just saw the real thing and the animals and the way they live, what they're doing. Pretty overwhelming. I didn't think I was going to have such an attachment. And I could see him in a few years. We're going to save his life. Gosh, this is a good, like, slow way to start the day. Don't speed, but you don't need to go slower than the speed limit. Oh, that's true. Mickey is not feeling well. I hope you're not sick. It could be a sign of infection. Definitely cringing really bad. That's a lot of blood on his lip, huh? It's fever reducer. Basically, like, cow child and all. Try to walk him out of here. There's his mom. Moms definitely recognize their babies. That's your baby 22. I like to think she somehow knew her baby's going somewhere different this time. Are you ready? Yes, we're ready. Do you have all your stuff? Probably not. Bye, bye-bye. Have a good ride. It's like an hour to the next farm. Sure hope they get along. This second farm has also agreed to let one calf live. They said we can take the boy in the back. Moose is the calf we're allowed to rescue. Who are you? Looks like she's tied to a pole and her hoof is stuck. This other calf's hoof is caught in a rope. I'm gonna at least try to untangle her leg. Okay, let's do it. She's untangled, but we can't take her. The girls are kept for their milk. Nice to meet you. I know you're so scared. It's gonna be better. Want the window open? Freaking out people behind us, huh? Hi. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you. I work here. Yeah, you have to say hi to them. So cute. Yeah, they're from dairy farms. I never like eating cereal, milk. I pick the cheese off my pizza and then eat the sauce. You got to keep it up like his mother's udder would be, you know? Keep carrying it. Never done this. This is amazing. It's amazing. We've had a heck of an experience. There are two babies and when you're allowed, you can come on out and take a look. We just fed them a couple hours ago. This one does not feel well. I can see it in her eyes. Singing them? They're gonna squeal if they hear me sing. Hush little baby, don't you worry. Mom's gonna buy you a docking bird. I'm gonna tell you something a little distressing. I think the black and white's breathing faster. 15 seconds. Okay. So it's 96. Okay. I wanted to give you an update on their respiratory status. One is three times faster than the other. Can you hear me? Losing cell service. Maybe he didn't get any of that. He said hello. I heard the hello, right? The black and white is 96. Shoot, it keeps... Are you there? Can you hear me? I have to think about what to do. Okay, I'm not trying to alarm, be an alarmist. I'm just reporting. Yeah, it's a problem. We might have to take a cab to a hospital. Okay. They're getting comfort from each other. They're either cuddling or canoodling. They're asking if he's responsive now. Yes. So they're both 52. And his ears are picked up. Look, they're both back. Great. That was a relief. And then things got weird. Oh no, black and white one's peeing. Oh, he's trying to nurse. Doing this with a lot of force. Pull the brown one's head away. I can turn around. Here's your phone. He's sucking on him, trying to get milk. He's gonna get out of the window. I got him to suck on my hand instead. Don't roll up the window, don't roll up the window. You're bleeding? I stuck my hand in his mouth, so. No, no, don't kick me, don't kick me. Oh, I got kicked. What? I got kicked. Are you okay? Oh, now you can. That's deep laugh. Okay. I'm gonna go back there instead. If I wanted to go first class, I would have done that. We're pretty lucky to even be a part of this. Let's go. I know. Sir, how did you break your ribs? Well, I was helping to transport a calf. That is my fault. Dad, can I borrow your phone and hotspot it? If I could, but I lost my phone. Can you call my phone? I don't have my phone. Yeah, this is where we lost the old Uber. Oh, there it is. Oh, my God. Entirely my fault. We are going to be late. Okay. Dad's first Red Bull. Terrible. I'm on Red Bull, baby. Oh, hi. Hello. ETA 127. Oh, my God, you guys must be hilarious. We're super excited and it just keeps us, you know, alive. We're high. It's exciting. Oh, Danny boy, and I'm exhausted. I'll make up the words as I go along. There he is. He's touching my hand. Oh, my God. He's licking me. You're going to have an unbelievable ride. Almost there. We finally got to Rosie's. It's a sanctuary where rescued animals can just live free. Oh, it's rich in there. Good thing I already have kids. Good night. Welcome home. All new animals quarantined for a month, so we visited them in their pen. And found out this happy ending was just at the beginning. Hey, boys. So we are hopefully going to get Mickey's mother when they're done selling her milk. We know 22. I know her. Oh, I can't wait to see if it happens. I don't want to, but if 22 can get here, she will. Hey, Jason. Nice to see you. Now that quarantine's over, they'll get to finally touch grass, feel the sun, really be free. Hi, guys. Oh, my gosh. Hi. Oh, my gosh. Hi. How you doing? It's exciting. It's really exciting. Oops, wrong way. It's grass. Oh, boy. Freedom. Look at that. Look at him go. He went back to the barn and just waited for his friend to feel safe enough. Oh, boy. Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome. That is Lana. We rescued her from a backyard dairy. They told us she couldn't get pregnant anymore. All these moms. And if there's not a pregnant goat, there's no milk. They were sending her off to auction. How come Lana's so much bigger than the other goat? Dad. Just large. It's big. She just wants love and affection from everyone. In just a few months now, we're going to be able to reunite Mickey with his mom. Once they were free, their personalities started to really come out. Hey. No, no, no, no. Hey, no, no, no. You're going to have a problem. OK. You've got to go outside. They caught him in here before. They just, I don't know, they pushed the doors open. Mickey's eating your phone. Mickey's really started to become the leader. And Moose follows. Even calling to his friend when he needs anything. I actually got a text from Eileen. I'm texting you all with some very sad news. We had to put 22 down yesterday. She somehow damaged her front knee and could not stand up. We had a vet evaluate her. They chose to put her down. I was really hoping to see her retire at your beautiful sanctuary. Sending love. I guess we had dreamed a little too big. OK. Eileen's had a hard season. It's hard to care. But she just drove down from Vermont. And today gets to see one of her boys growing up. I've never been to Rosie's. And I haven't seen the baby since it left Vermont. It is so nice to... Oh my god. Mickey! Hi sweetheart. You're so big. It makes it all just like wonderful. Because there's a lot of days where it is hard being on the farm. There's a lot of cows that just come and go and come and go and come and go. And so seeing this just is like heartwarming. How did you end up getting them to agree? The farm? So I talked to him about it. And I was like, hey, you guys just get rid of the bulls anyways, blah, blah, blah. And I actually, I donated a paycheck for him. Oh, you did? I did. Oh, I didn't know that. I did. So I... That's OK. I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to know because I was like, you know what? This is what I can do. I couldn't help myself. It was wonderful. And I'm so happy. If it wasn't for this lady, you wouldn't be here. I was a week late on my car payment for you, bud. You were worth it. Hi, this is Lana. She couldn't produce milk anymore. You can usually see the mom like looking and the gate shuts and they're like, damn. And they do this thing. It is very, very hard. I'm not really working on the farm as much because it was a challenge to see that heartbreak, especially having given birth ourselves. Jesus, I love you. Makes my heart just so freaking happy. Good. It does. These moms don't have a lot in common, but together, great things can happen. Not always when expected. Where's Lana? Guess they've never seen cows before. I'm going to look for Lana. Did you look in the sheep stall? I'm going to look down here. Is everything OK? Jason, there's a baby deer. What? Lana's in there. No, Lana, don't. There's two. OK. Oh, my God. Wait a minute. No, no. This is Lana's babies. Wait, what? These are Lana's babies. What? Lana just had babies. What? Lana. OK, I need to get some information about these babies. Are they alive? Yeah. She didn't see mine? In the woods. In the bush. She took them in the bush. I'll go. OK, get them out of there. I got to go. She just gave birth. The farmer said she couldn't produce any more milk, which is why he gave it to us. Mickey. She was getting unusually fat. It's very possible she's been separated from babies that she's never seen again. The other animals are very excited. What's going on here? It's like a race. You're not the biggest show in town anymore. We're not taking them away from you. They haven't met the babies yet. Oh, my God. Oh, you just fight off the babies. Hello. It's so cool that Lana gets to finally be a mom and these babies here get to have a real life. He was a little more difficult to gain the trust. He's so cute. I know. I shouldn't touch your nose. I know, but he's so cute. You could make me a vegan, you know? Yeah. Oh, I just can't believe this difference. It's just the trust now. 30, 29, 60. 60, 21. 60, 22. We brought my nephews out to celebrate Mickey's second birthday. Those are cows. Oh, they have horns. What? They have big horns. Those are cows. I know that face. Those are Lana's babies. Wow. Oh, my gosh. I hope my nephews learn we're all different, but we can all feel pain or joy. And anyone who can feel those things deserves love. Everyone here has a chance to make a new family. They're beings. They don't have the musculature to smile. That's what I see. I see their eyes. They're happy. And the way they get along with each other, they are definitely brothers. Well, they're not. They're not brothers. Anyway, they get to have a best friend to grow old with. I don't want to be sappy, but I truly believe this. It's been special for our family. Son, you have a little problem? Would you like a hand? Yes, please. It's certainly brought me closer to you. Well, there's no one I would have rather done this during with, so. Oh, shucks. Okay. Whoa. Happy birthday, boys. I don't know. You're, like, leaning down. Yeah, I'm trying to circle around that way. That's interesting. It seems like you're skipping a lot of street. Okay. There we go. College street. I could have turned there. I lost my GoPro case. I still have to search for your GoPro. I'm so close. Oh, I think she's headed. Oh, okay. I like this. This is good and keeps me warm.