LisaJoy
Active member
Good morning. 
It continues to interest me how many different valid perspectives there are on this topic. I am getting stronger in my opinion that regardless of the condition of the cow at the moment of death, (she was making progress getting up and down 3 times on her own, in a pen, not just in the security of the tank), it was an act of negligence on their part, which they admit, and that a replacement should be made. But, replacement of what? A cow recovering from an injury that can stand up three times in her pen, or a cow that I was willing to pay for floating treatments for with the goal in mind of a healthy cow (either for breeding if appropriate, or sale). It is a business, and I went into it knowing I don't know it all. There was a chance she would be spending her last days there if there was no positive, timely response by this past Monday. It was a gamble, but I also went into it feeling she had a greater chance of survival than failure. Otherwise, I would not have considered it. Why string the poor girl along if she is suffering? She was trying, with no additional illnesses or further injuries to deal with, and that is what kept me optimistic, along with the conversations with the float man on what is a typical response by cows in a condition like hers that succeed. She was doing well, filling the requirements in both of our books, and would be able to return home to a pen for her further recovery. I would still have been ahead of the game in cost of healed cow vs dead cow. On the other hand, I was aware I could walk away with a $300 bill and no cow. That would not be good and I winced each time I thought about it, but it was possible.
It's funny to me that some of you consider her a pet of mine. She was not. She was an investment, and I like to take care of my investments. I also raise Shelties....and they are pets. I will admit I do love animals (as alot of you do) and feel a responsibility to them while they are in my care. Everyone in an animal industry has to have some sort of interest in animals to be willing to do all of the work involved. Some people are willing to do more for their animals than others, and some aren't willing to take any risk and would prefer the animal dead and a loss. I guess what I've learned here is there is no wrong answer. Whatever works for each of us is what makes the world go 'round. Having respect for that is where it can get sticky.
I called the float man yesterday to ask what he felt was fair. (He really is a great person!) He takes full responsibility and wants to replace her with a nice 2 yr. old. I did offer to pay the bill if he felt that was fair, and he is going to get back to me on that. He thought it was very generous to offer. He mentioned he realizes as well that this situation could have been anything from a "forget about it.... to a law suit". He wants to meet in the middle of it, and I'm fine with that too.
Take care everybody!
LisaJoy
It continues to interest me how many different valid perspectives there are on this topic. I am getting stronger in my opinion that regardless of the condition of the cow at the moment of death, (she was making progress getting up and down 3 times on her own, in a pen, not just in the security of the tank), it was an act of negligence on their part, which they admit, and that a replacement should be made. But, replacement of what? A cow recovering from an injury that can stand up three times in her pen, or a cow that I was willing to pay for floating treatments for with the goal in mind of a healthy cow (either for breeding if appropriate, or sale). It is a business, and I went into it knowing I don't know it all. There was a chance she would be spending her last days there if there was no positive, timely response by this past Monday. It was a gamble, but I also went into it feeling she had a greater chance of survival than failure. Otherwise, I would not have considered it. Why string the poor girl along if she is suffering? She was trying, with no additional illnesses or further injuries to deal with, and that is what kept me optimistic, along with the conversations with the float man on what is a typical response by cows in a condition like hers that succeed. She was doing well, filling the requirements in both of our books, and would be able to return home to a pen for her further recovery. I would still have been ahead of the game in cost of healed cow vs dead cow. On the other hand, I was aware I could walk away with a $300 bill and no cow. That would not be good and I winced each time I thought about it, but it was possible.
It's funny to me that some of you consider her a pet of mine. She was not. She was an investment, and I like to take care of my investments. I also raise Shelties....and they are pets. I will admit I do love animals (as alot of you do) and feel a responsibility to them while they are in my care. Everyone in an animal industry has to have some sort of interest in animals to be willing to do all of the work involved. Some people are willing to do more for their animals than others, and some aren't willing to take any risk and would prefer the animal dead and a loss. I guess what I've learned here is there is no wrong answer. Whatever works for each of us is what makes the world go 'round.
Having respect for that is where it can get sticky. I called the float man yesterday to ask what he felt was fair. (He really is a great person!) He takes full responsibility and wants to replace her with a nice 2 yr. old. I did offer to pay the bill if he felt that was fair, and he is going to get back to me on that. He thought it was very generous to offer. He mentioned he realizes as well that this situation could have been anything from a "forget about it.... to a law suit". He wants to meet in the middle of it, and I'm fine with that too.
Take care everybody!
LisaJoy
