Rufus

Sweet baby Rufus’s life began in the beef industry, but he wasn’t like the other cows. Rufus was born with a rare genetic condition called hypotrichosis, which causes hairlessness. Because he required special care, the farmworkers had a chance to fall in love with him, and they reached out to us for help instead of sending him to slaughter. We rushed Rufus to the hospital for evaluation right away, and we learned that he was fighting pneumonia. His doctors warned us that the pneumonia was so severe that he might not be able to recover. Had we been even a day later in rescuing him, it may have been too late.

In addition to the hypotrichosis and pneumonia, Rufus also had severe ulcers on both of his eyes, and we feared that he was going blind. Amazingly, Rufus’s ulcers were already starting to heal, and his ophthalmologist gave him a great prognosis. Our brave boy fought the pneumonia like a champion, and he was ready to come home to the sanctuary much sooner than anyone expected. After this, our biggest focus was ensuring that Rufus was properly protected from the elements. Rufus required special care to prevent sunburn and winter exposure—it’s easy to get too hot or too cold when you have no hair!

Rufus was the friendliest little guy we’ve ever known! From the very first moment we met him, he was eager to love and be loved. Rufus truly did not know that he was any different from anyone else. He fit right in with our herd of perfectly unique cows, including Auggie, who lives with the same rare genetic condition.  We’re so thankful that Rufus was with us during his short life. He never knew anything but love and safety while in sanctuary. Rest in peace, sweet boy.