Duke

Where do I begin with this special little boy who changed my life in many ways? I will tell Duke’s full story at some point but here is a snippet of “who” he was.
Duke was brought to me due to the fact he had an injury in his back legs which left him unable to stand.
He was born a dwarf Hereford, which meant he was not a lot of use in industry and he ended up with a herd of highland cows. I think he was probably bullied and took a fall which damaged him.
I spent 17 months getting this little boy back on his feet. It was such a stressful time as I grew to love this boy so much. Hours upon hours of care daily, vet care, physio, acupuncture, you name it, I tried everything. I even had a giant dog wheel cart built and Duke would run in the fields with his best friend Kevin the sheep.
I had a special lifting hoist built in his shed so that when the weather turned wet it was still possible to get him on his feet and a few times I was given hope that he would walk again.
He loved me as much as I loved him. He had the tiniest little moo ever but would shout at the top of his little moo when I came home from work. I would sit for hours with him, grooming and massaging him with muscle oils to help him. He would lay his head on my knee and fall asleep with a contented little purr sound that would melt my heart. His story and his antics made him a huge star on social media and he even featured on the news and in magazines. Everybody adored him
Sadly after a long hard wet winter, we finally got a move to a better place. I had a huge lifting hoist made with an overhead rail to support him to get him more mobile
But I started to worry as his knee joints looked swollen
I had tried no end of vets to X-ray his back but had no success
I tried equine vets and was often laughed at when I said it was for a bullock
I even tried “super vet “ who was not interested, telling me he did not work with ruminants which to me was bizarre as the bone structure was the same
Then Defra got involved when I was reported by some dark souls
They arrived with X-ray equipment, but still without the correct machinery to fully X-ray his spine
But they found his knee joints had started with hairline fractures and I knew that I had no choice but to let my little boy go
I held him in my arms like a baby as he passed away
Run free from pain my little champion
I will never forget you
After Duke died I received 1000s of messages from his followers who were devastated by his death
My little boy touched the hearts of so many people who saw cows for who they are not what they are
I missed my boy so much
I had wanted to see him running free through the fields and the thought this would never happen broke my heart
A supporter even named a star ⭐️ in his memory called Dukey Boo
I decided that his death would not be a loss I would bring something positive
And I searched for a relative of his
I drove miles to go and see the original place that he came from and I brought home his brother who I named “Star”
Duke’s little life was not in vain x

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