Bonnie and Olive have a lot in common, both risking it all to start a new life. Find out about their moving journeys below.

Bonnie was born on a New York farm where cows were being raised for beef, and when the farmer passed away, the herd was being sold. As Bonnie’s friends were being loaded onto a trailer, she watched in fear and must have sensed something was deeply wrong because she fled into the forest.

This courageous cow soon found solace and safety among a family of deer, who welcomed her as one of their own. Moved by Bonnie’s will to live and her interspecies friendships, area residents watched out for her, and a kind person named Becky brought out food and bedding in the harsh winter weather. Yet, other neighbors did not respond kindly, threatening to shoot Bonnie if she kept ending up on their properties, so Becky turned to Farm Sanctuary. It took two weeks and the help of her trusted friend, Becky, to secure Bonnie, but she was soon on her way to her forever home.

Thanks to the power of sanctuary, Bonnie will live out the rest of her life in peace and love.

Sarah, the environment manager at our New York Sanctuary and our resident cow whisperer, says, “Bonnie is doing great and is perfect! She looks for her snack (bowl of grain) in the morning when I am doing rounds and seems to be getting along with everyone in her herd.”

Bonnie is once again surrounded by friends who love her. She spends most of her time with herdmates, Hayes, Paula, Milton, and another inspiring cow whose story you’ll learn below, Olive.

Olive was one of multiple cows who escaped from a New York dairy farm and ran into the woods. While the others were, sadly, rounded up, a pregnant Olive clung to her freedom and evaded capture for months.

Local residents kept an eye on her and alerted Farm Sanctuary that she had likely given birth. Our rescue team found Olive’s calf in need of help, so we immediately brought him to Cornell for emergency veterinary care. Sadly, veterinarians had to make the heartbreaking but compassionate choice to euthanize him due to untreatable musculoskeletal and joint conditions that were causing him to suffer. 

But we returned to the woods, determined to save Olive, who herself was so determined to be free. We knew that this mother cow had likely lost other calves to the horrors of dairy production.

Like Bonnie, Olive was understandably fearful at first, and it took weeks of patience as she returned to our pen to drink and eat. Eventually, Olive came close enough for us to secure her for rescue, and she began her new life at our New York sanctuary—with Bonnie and friends!

One of the joys of sanctuary is seeing farm animals who once had every reason to fear humans come to realize that they are in safe hands and valued for who they are, not what they can produce. 

At Farm Sanctuary, Olive has let her guard down and begun to revel in her freedom and the bonds she’s formed here. In her early days here, Olive grew close to, who else, cow whisperer Sarah, who patiently earned Olive’s trust with gentle pets and favorite snacks. Now, sweet Olive has many human friends and bovine buddies who bring her comfort and companionship.

Time and again, farm animals show a will to live. Hoping against all odds, Bonnie and Olive ran for their lives. So did June B. Free and Susan cows, Rose sheep, and Hans goat, just to name a few of our rescued residents who once took a chance on freedom.

Now around 9 years old, Bonnie has already lived to an older age than cows exploited by animal agriculture are allowed to reach. When given the chance, cows can live for up to 20 years! But those exploited for their milk are slaughtered at about 5-6 years of age, when their exhausted bodies can no longer endure the cruel cycle of dairy production. Those exploited for veal or beef, often males, are killed even younger—typically at around 5 months old or 1.5 years old, respectively.

But at Farm Sanctuary, cows are given the daily care they have always deserved. They are given the shelter, nutrition, and medical care they need. Their social and cognitive needs are met so that they can thrive.

That’s the life that Bonnie and Olive once sought, and it’s the life that all beings deserve.