01/05/2026
This week we lost one of the best.
On Tuesday morning our Gruff went down, and no matter what I did wouldn’t get up. The vet was called and I sat with him holding his head up and trying to get him to eat or drink, and trying to troubleshoot with other people with bulls for what could be wrong while waiting for the vet to arrive, praying there was something we could do.
The vet took bloods, ran tests and gave him antibiotics anti inflammatories and we started on IV fluids and minerals.
Every single test came back clear. No answers. No virus. No illness. No deficiencies. No toxicity. You’d think this was good news, but it meant there was nothing we could do. Just keep up the IV, roll him over every few hours and pray.
So that’s what I did. Three days of sitting in the paddock with this boy from dark to dark trying to make him comfortable, giving him scratches and trying to keep him alive in the hope that he would get back up again.
Unfortunately he didn’t make it.
The kids are devastated. I am devastated. My husband is devastated. There have been a lot of tears.
Some people say don’t have livestock if you’re going to get attached to them, or don’t name them. But that’s just not who we are. These cows are a part of the family, every animal has a purpose, and that purpose shouldn’t exclude them from having a happy life filled with affection, cuddles and companionship. Gruff’s purpose was to be our long term breeding bull and live a happy long life with us here, and the fact that he didn’t get that tears me up.
This wasn’t your normal standofish bull that you might think of as dangerous and to be avoided, this is a guy who was a little shy at first but loved when I gave him a brush and a scratch. He had favourite treats. He would find a spot close to a gate so the kids could sit with him and give him scratches. He would put himself under a sprinkler on a hot day, and would sleep in the sun on a cold one.
He was a sweet gentle teddy bear, and he is going to be sorely missed by every single one of us. Thank you to every one of our friends who helped us this week, we really needed you and you came through.
RIP Valterri “Gruff” (10/10/24- 29/4/26)