As a farmer’s daughter my life has been full of animals. Joey arrived soon after my brother’s sudden death when I was just 18. We were all reeling with grief. Then this tiny twin calf arrived, born to one of my brother’s favourite cows. His twin died almost immediately, but I rebelled against the pragmatic advice of the farm manager to let this one slip away too.
I hand-milked his mother and fed him myself, and took him home to my little cottage where I could watch him whenever I wasn’t at work on the farm, learning the trade. He took up residence there alongside my lurcher puppy, Gail, who accepted him without fuss. It was an unlikely trio – a grieving girl, a dog and a calf – finding our way through the fog of loss together.
