Ivana Atmojo

Many of you may be lucky enough to grow up in a country side, where you may grow up climbing trees, swimming in the sea, and get to live closely to farm animals. To me, that’s the kind of childhood that will develop a sense of humility, a love towards animals & nature, and of course a street-smart knowledge on the survival of living in the wild nature out there.  I’ve seen all these qualities in my friends who have had such childhood—priceless indeed.

Some of us, just like me, grew up in the city, and could only dream of really meeting and petting farm animals. (except for Samiaji Guntur, a friend of mine who had 7 goats running at the backyard of his workplace).  In my last 3-day holiday, I got lucky enough that my friends were willing to drive me to a nearby farm in West Java. I finally got to see cows up-close!!!!  Can you imagine my excitement?  (Pic 1: Where’s Wally? That was me in the far right, fully mesmerised)

As soon as we got to the farm, I ran right away into the farm.  I spent the first minutes just squatting in front of the cows, watching them in admiration. They were such adorable creatures, I tell yah! They had the kind of a forgiving & sympathetic pair of round eyes, big cute noses, and soft fur! Minutes later I started feeding them, petting them, letting them lick my hands (the texture of their tongues is exceptionally rough, they almost feel like sand papers!), while my sister was busy taking some great pictures!

Although they were extremely adorable, I did find that they need to improve on their manner *LOL*. When I fed them with bamboo leaves, they just kept pulling the branch so abruptly away from me. Seconds later, some of them peed very loudly (like 5 taps running at the same time)…and it gets even better! One of them pooed, and it was amazingly loud too! Wohooo!!! That certainly wrapped my experience with cows. Loved it! (not the poo & the pee, but the fact that I got the chance to witness them all in such a short time).

I’ve been warned that cows smell appallingly awful. The girls even stayed in the car—away from the farm. But hey, I thought: “Who wouldn’t smell THAT bad if one pees and poos around oneself?” I mean these cows are tied, and they really couldn’t go anywhere. And apparently, their place wasn’t cleaned as much as it should. So it’s not their fault at all. The cows themselves don’t smell bad, so long as they’re being taken care of–trust me on that.

To conclude, I am firm in my opinion that cows are great animals!!!! And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the winner picture (photographed by: Ivonne).

Despite the fact that I was laughing out loud with excitement, but deep down…, my heart really fell for them.  From milk to steaks to handbags, human beings owe it all to them. Will it ever be enough? Does it not break our heart to see these animals being slaughtered to serve our sole interests? Will there finally be a day when these animals earn their rights to LIVE as BEINGS (just like us)?

I pray for the day to come.