Just like humans, many animals are susceptible to the dangers of the cold weather. They can experience things like frostbite and hypothermia, which is why it’s always inspiring when human go out of their way to keep them warm.
Like one farmer, who improvised to save a freezing baby cow’s life with a very unexpected solution.
Dean Gangwer raises cattle on his farm in Rossville, Indiana. One cold morning in 2015, Dean discovered an unexpected new addition to his farm.
One of his cows had given birth without him realizing it in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, she had delivered her baby calf onto a pile of snow, and the newborn was now freezing.
Dean could see the calf was barely breathing and couldn’t keep his eyes open. He raced the cow to his home to try to save its life.
Drawing from his cattle experience, he knew he needed to get the calf in a hot bath… and Dean happened to have the perfect cow-sized bath ready to go: his hot tub!
Unusual as it sounds, the plan worked like a charm.
“I jumped in fully dressed, held Leroy up so he didn’t drown, and him and I had a nice bath for an hour,” Dean told WRTV “We both came out warm and I think the end story’s gonna be great for him.”
After that relaxing jacuzzi session, the farmer wrapped his calf in warm heated blankets.
He named the calf Leroy. Soon, the cow’s body temperature returned to normal, and he was ready to join the herd.
It was a kind and quick-thinking idea to save this little cow’s life, but this farmer says sharing his hot tub with the cows won’t to be a regular thing.
“Leroy’s officially done hot-tubbing,” he said. “Some sunbathing is definitely in his future out in the grass, but definitely his hot tub days are done.”