Animal Place

The dairy industry is based on an ugly truth - in order to produce milk, a cow must be impregnated, give birth,and her baby must be taken from her. There is no happy pasture with adorable calves frolicking amongst their watchful mothers.

Male calves have no commercial value to dairy farmers, as they do not produce milk nor do they grow quickly like breeds used for meat production.

At the sanctuary, six of the twelve bovines are The Orphans of the dairy industry - the unwanted male calves.

Linus is one of five calves an individual bought at auction for $5 per calf. He planned on raising the calves for backyard slaughter. A neighbor complained when she noticed the calves losing weight and living in a tiny, dirt lot. Santa Cruz County Animal Services confiscated all five calves - all went to Animal Place where Linus and his “brother” Douglas remained, and the remaining three went to another sanctuary.

The coat color of Linus has changed since he was rescued in July of 2011! I’ve loved watching the transformation.

Linus at the young age of 1-mos-old.

Linus at 6-mos-old, starting to darken a little:

And Linus last week, at 10-mos-old - we love the dark heart framing his face!