Unusual 'Pet' Story

18 years ago

I just have to share.

This guy had me laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face.

Dave, an old friend of mine, told me he once bought a longhorn calf to keep the pasture grass "mowed", &, when the calf got big enough, he would be meat for the table.

Well, the calf followed Dave around like a dog.

They went to the pond together, where Dave fished & Brutus (once you name a calf, it cannot become barbeque) grazed.

When his horns began to emerge, Dave got in the habit of rubbing Brutus's forehead, which the calf really enjoyed.

(Are emerging horns something like emerging teeth? I'll have to ask.)

When he was a huge yearling, Brutus he still liked having his head rubbed.

He would sometimes walk up behind Dave & rub his head on Dave's back.

Dave said the first time he felt something against his back & saw a horn on either side of his body, he nearly had a heart attack.

When Brutus heard Dave's truck, he would go stand at the gate, waiting.

Dave said his now-ex-wife never did that...

By now Brutus is a grown bull with yearnings toward the neighbor's cows, registered Holsteins.

Registered dairy cows are bred to registered bulls to produce more valuable offspring, so, to be a good neighbor, Dave reinforced the fence.

Brutus walked over it.

Dave added 2 strands of barbed wire.

Brutus learned to hook his horns under the wire, lift it, & walk *under* the fence.

Dave had a footing poured, imbedding the wire fence in concrete, & the Holstein herd was safe.

However, Brutus had had an accident:

he had a really bad scratch from the barbed wire.

On one of his most personal areas.

Dave's vet gave the bull an anti-biotic injection & handed Dave a jar of cream with instructions to "rub it on the affected area twice a day."

Dave is the most macho man in the universe.

He said he didn't want to rub salve on a bull's b@lls twice a day, but he couldn't get his wife to do it, & he was afraid the kids would get hurt.

The first time, he said Brutus looked at him like he was crazy.

Then, in Dave's words, "he got to where he liked it. He'd see me coming to the pasture with that jar of cream, & he'd run up to the gate.

Then the scratch got better, & the cream was all gone, but Brutus still wanted me to rub something on him anyway."

Brutus, needless to say, lived to a ripe old age.

He finally developed crippling arthritis & the vet came out & gave him an easy exit with an injection.

Dave buried Brutus in his pasture, in a spot overlooking the pond.

Featured Answer

margeetx

5 years ago

Great story....I went in, interrupted hubby watching PBS.....read him the story. He said...."I would have done the same thing." What a man have I.

Comments (15)

barb_from_pa
18 years ago
Bless his furry old heart!
girlwithaspirin
18 years ago
I'm dying laughing over here. Your friend gave new meaning to the term "grab the bull by the balls," eh? Thanks for sharing! :D
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Nancy_Ind_is_now_Ill
18 years ago
Love it!! Shows what lengths a pet owner will go to in order for their baby to be happy. LOL. I don't feel a bit bad now about washing poopy rear ends.
oakleif
16 years ago
Saw this on the last saved page and thought we could use a cute story as well as saving it before it went into oblivian
vickie
sylviatexas1
Original Author
15 years ago
bringing this to the top once again;

my old friend Dave passed away the day before Thanksgiving last year, & I guess I'll always miss his stories.
sylviatexas1
Original Author
13 years ago
Is it time for another "generation" of Pets Forum readers to be subjected to this story???

Dave's been gone nearly 3 years, & I still think this was his best story & now maybe it's my best story.
petaloid
13 years ago
Thanks for bringing Dave and Brutus' heartwarming story back up -- it put a big smile on my face.
coconut_nj
13 years ago
Hi Sylvia, waves.

What a great story! I managed to miss this so I'm really glad you brought it back. What a guy, I'm sure you do miss just a great friend. Can't you just imagine his turmoil as he had to decide he was going to have to keep up the 'rubbing'? LOL.
sylviatexas1
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, another year has gone by, time for a new batch of pet lovers to hear, & for us Pet Forum veterans to hear again, the epic of Dave & Brutus.
annzgw
12 years ago
What a wonderful way to pay homage to a good friend. A toast to Dave & Brutus!
sylviatexas1
Original Author
9 years ago
It's been over 2.5 years since this was brought to the top, but it's still a favorite story.

Dave's been gone since Thanksgiving 2007,

His kids are grown now, with families of their own.

I hope some of Dave's grandchildren inherited his spirit, his sense of humor, his love of animals, & his story-telling gift.
Ninkasi
9 years ago
Thanks for passing this on! Dave's story lives on and certainly gave me a chuckle seeing it for the first time all these years after the initial post. I won't pass a longhorn without thinking about this tale. Condolences on the loss of your friend, he sounds like he was a lovely person.
Sylvia Gordon
6 years ago
I was just thinking about this and wanted to share once again.
SaltiDawg
5 years ago
Anyone in serious Dog Breeding likely has knowledge and experience in Artificial Insemination. (In Bulldogs, for example, it is virtually the only way breeding occurs.)

Well, part of the process is "collecting the specimen" from the male. Most breeders have one person that usually performs the "manipulation" and "collection." A frequently used sire can become very much in tune with that special person and become quite "antsy" when she walks into the kennel.