A northern Victorian family has farewelled a hardy Holstein cow who made it to 29 years old.
She was a prolific mother, producing 18 calves — only giving up when she was 21 — and overcame a number of typical bovine challenges over the years to reach retirement.
Annabelle the cow died in November on the Merrigum farm where she grew up, cradled in the arms of Kaihla King, the human who grew up with her.
At the end, Annabelle had difficulty walking and getting up and arthritis made any movement painful, so the vet was called to put her to the perpetual sleep.
Annabelle was born on the northern Victorian farm of Bob and Nannette Casella at Merrigum (near Kyabram) in September 1993. Her mother died after the birth having suffered a prolapse.
Five-year-old Kaihla named the new calves that year.
“I named them in alphabetical order — A for Annabelle, B for Betty.”
Annabelle’s life was a series of adventures.
At about 20 she had trouble getting up and Kaihla was preparing to say goodbye, but after “a good talking to”, Annabelle rallied and got back on her feet.
Three months before she died, she fell into one of the farm’s large dams and they used hip clamps and a tractor to lift her out.
Kaihla recalls she was a protective mother.
She said once when Annabelle and her calf were in a side yard of the dairy, “she put me up against the brick dairy, as if to say: ‘get back’.”
Annabelle was also the boss in the dairy, commanding first place through the shed.
Sometimes she had to be chased out of the vegie garden and away from the fruit trees.
She loved lawn clippings, roses and willow tree leaves, and was also partial to a bucket of oats.
And if you even doubted for a moment that Annabelle was part of the family, it was put to rest when Kaihla was married and she insisted on having a photo taken in her wedding dress with her bovine friend.
“She wasn’t sure about everyone and we couldn’t get her to the place we wanted for a photograph, so we had to meet her where she was more comfortable; mud and everything.”
The family still look out the farm house windows and search for Annabelle in her paddock.
Even though she wasn’t producing any milk towards the end, she had her own paddock, and eventually had the run of the house yard, munching on roses (her favourite) and even drinking from the lawn sprinkler on a hot day.
Veterinary dairy specialist Rob Bonnano said any cow which reached the age of 29 would be an exception.
“We hear of cows which sometimes make it to 15 to 20 years, but anything beyond the mid 20s would be exceptional,” he said.