IF A CALF COULD TELL HIS STORY

So far, you’re the only one on earth that wants me to show you the story of my life;
I was born on a dairy farm, and stayed in a small stall with my mother. She nurtured me and loved me, I felt safe with her always next to me. I was only allowed to stay one day with her. The next day I was sold to another farm to be “veal”, like many calves born on dairy farms. Men came in our stall and they pulled me out the gate and away from my mother. She was frantic and cried for me, she ran back and forth against the gate. But she could not get through. I cried as loud as I could as the people jerked me away by my face. I have recently found out that my mother had cried for weeks for me after I had left. I was then pulled by rope by a man and put in a truck with other cows that I did not know. I did not know what was happening or where I was going. I arrived at a building that looked unfamiliar. I was taken down a hallway. Then they pulled me into a crate and they chained my ankles down. They turned the lights out. There I was kept in the crate in darkness, the walls of the crate at my sides so that I could not move my body. When I tried to lay down, I could not lay down in a normal position, so to lay down was uncomfortable. I became thirsty, but I was never given any water my whole life, so to try to satisfy my thirst I drank the milk formula specially made to keep me anemic. On top of that, I felt sick a lot because I had an intestinal disease that was not treated. I felt like I had no one to turn to, no one who would treat me decent, no one to love me. I felt lost and out of place. I was not allowed to move for nine weeks- my whole life. Every hour was horrible. It was the most boring, insane thing I have ever experienced. Eventually, after a long time of not getting any response with my cries, I stopped crying. My soul was shattered and I was depressed beyond explanation. After nine weeks, I was shot in the head.
         I never really felt like I knew what it was like to have a life on earth. I didn’t know what it would be like to have friends to romp around with. All I knew of was my loving, precious mother. How I missed her when I was there. But now that I am here in heaven I am with her again, in her loving sight. I now understand that those people did not truly know what they were doing to me. They did not want to acknowledge our feelings, they had a lot to learn. A person here told me this. How wonderful the people are here. I had no idea they could be so loving. When I was there, I could never understand why people treated us like they did, when we did nothing mean to them. If they would have been nice to me and my mother, I would have loved them and given them kisses. They could have been a friend.
I wish for peace for the others like me. And I have learned to forgive the people that did that to me.

©2005 Molly Nicole

This story is based on modern day facts. The mothers are killed when they are no longer able to have babies. Go to www.HFA.org for veal facts or http://www.goveg.com/feat/hiddenlivesofcows/knowhow.asp it talks about how cows are intelligent and emotional animals.
To help- boycott veal and don’t buy milk.