“Seeing that they trusted us seemed to build her trust in us.”
When Happy Compromise Farm + Sanctuary needed to relocate from Oregon, they discovered the ideal property in New York. To their surprise, it came with a lone cow named Miriam.
“The New York property was previously a meat CSA, and when we moved the sanctuary there, the former owners offered us Miriam because they couldn’t load her for slaughter,” said Eryn Leavens, the executive director of Happy Compromise Farm + Sanctuary. “We didn’t hesitate to take her in as our first cow resident. After our cross-country journey with 100 rescued animals, Miriam was the only animal on the property. It felt as though she had been waiting for us.”
Unfortunately, Miriam’s first five years had been difficult. She lived in the woods and had a strained relationship with humans. She was terrified of her new caretakers at first, but they understood why. They were determined to show her that she was now safe.
“Her only experiences with people had been awful, so she expected the worst from us too,” Leavens explained. “But she was very curious about the other animals we brought, especially the alpacas. Watching them trust us seemed to help her trust us as well.”
Miriam’s new caretakers spent countless hours patiently working to earn her trust, and gradually, their efforts paid off. They made promises about the new life she would have—and kept every one of them.
“When we first met Miriam, we promised her she’d eventually have cow friends and a shelter,” Leavens shared. “She had been sleeping in the woods for five years, so we made it a priority to build her a shelter. A few months later, we were asked to help with a two-year-old Jersey cow named Penelope. We happily took her in, and she became Miriam’s best friend right away.”
Miriam cherished all the animals at the sanctuary, but having another cow was particularly special. From the moment they met, she and Penelope were inseparable, and their bond remains strong today.
Now, Miriam is part of a whole herd of rescued cows and couldn’t be happier. She’s learned to trust and love her human caregivers, following them around wherever they go. Once scared and alone, Miriam now enjoys a life full of love and security, and her caretakers are overjoyed to have made her dreams a reality.