Misery liked being petted and groomed, and was extremely quiet, like a dog.
It wasn’t long before the pen had to be made larger, and for a while Beth was afraid her pet might have to go up to the shed with all the other calves. However Dad had become very interested in the progress of the calf, so a larger pen was made, with a shelter for her to sleep in.
Several months passed and Misery, now having two good feeds a day, had almost caught up in size to all the other calves. The others had all been weaned by now and were out grazing in the paddocks. Misery was in a paddock too, but it was one of Dad’s best, and besides the milk she was having meal regularly, a very pampered pet. She was by this time looking lovely and showing signs of being a good heifer.
Beth was very proud of her. Misery liked being petted and groomed, and was extremely quiet like a dog. They went for many walks, and Misery would follow Beth at every opportunity.
At last Dad decided that Misery should be weaned, and turned out to share the life of the other heifers, otherwise she would be a very difficult animal to break into the herd later on. A spoilt animal in a herd could upset all the others, and there was no doubt that Misery was spoilt. She obviously considered herself superior to all her new companions, and there was quite a bit of strife before they all settled down to live together.
Life was good. Plenty of good sweet grass and Beth still spent a lot of time with her pet, grooming her and bringing little extras like some meal or an apple. Beth’s Dad decided that it would be better if Misery had an extra year in which to grow before having her first calf and so time slipped by. Misery had by now grown into a very handsome animal.
She had a pretty head with a pair of small, beautifully curved horns, well spaced soft dark eyes, and the white patch on her forehead emphasised the “dished” face of `. The most important part of a good cow however, is the body, and Misery’s part of a good body had repaid all the effort, and Misery had certainly repaid all the effort that had been spent on her. She had a good straight back, a deep chest, wide ribs, and her deep stomach. Her legs were set wide apart and her udder markings ran wide down between her hind legs, and extended well forward onto her stomach. Four good sized, well set teats completed her equipment which promised well when it came time for milking.
As the time for Misery’s calf to be born grew close Beth was in a fever of excitement. Each day she rushed home from school, hoping for good news, and then would go off to see her pet. At last the great day arrived and Dad told her that Misery had produced a good strong heifer calf. Beth raced off to see them; there was Misery, proudly licking off her new baby, who was just a small image of her mother. Beth promptly named it “Misery Two”.
Life changed rather drastically for Misery after that as she had to become a member of the herd. It was not as pleasant a life as it had been up until then, but she soon learnt to accept it. Fortunately, she had no health problems and soon settled down to milking and shed routines. As Beth had been sure, milking and the arrangement proved to be the top helper for the season and a very good milker. Beth was so proud of her and was a very good milker better cow anywhere than her Misery.
Beth’s Dad had decided that that would be their last season of dairying and the herd would be sold before the next calving season. This was a terrible worry to Beth when she learnt of the plans. How could she bear to sell her Misery and Misery Two. Everyone was too busy to notice that Beth was unhappy and quiet, and she was afraid to ask about the selling of the cows.
One night when she went off to bed, it became too difficult to hold back the tears, and when Dad came in and bid her “Goodnight” all her fears were discovered. Dad was very sorry that she had been worrying over the possible loss of her pets, and assured her that over the years they were going to concentrate on the sheep and cattle they were going to always need a house cow or two, and as Misery was so quiet, it was sensible to keep her. Beth was delighted and was soon her usual happy self again.
The time came for the sale and it was sad seeing all the faithful cows being sold, along with all the other young stock. Many of them were bought by other local farmers, who knew they were getting good cows, and it didn’t seem so bad when the animals weren’t going very far away. It was a busy day but at last the sale was over and the farm could settle down to a different way of life. It was strange not having a big herd to milk night and morning; just one very important house cow.
Misery blossomed under the new conditions and was quite happy to be milked out in the paddock on fine days. As Beth grew older, she learnt to milk her beloved pet herself, and the arrangement carried on for years. Misery Two grew into a beautiful cow and was also milked as a house cow. Never quite as quiet as her mother, or cared for as a spoilt animal, she was nevertheless a very well cared for cow.
Beth loved taking visitors out and showing them the beautiful gold and white Jersey cow, and saying proudly “This is my cow, Misery”.