A Kentucky farming family brought their newborn calf into their home when freezing temperatures put the baby’s life at risk.
God gave us the responsibility to care for and protect His creatures. The Sorrell family of Mount Sterling showed us what that really means when winter hit their farm hard.
Tanner Sorrell headed out Saturday morning to check on a pregnant cow. What he found broke his heart. The cow had given birth in single-digit temperatures, and the newborn calf was in serious trouble.
“She was just frozen. Her umbilical cord looked like a popsicle,” his wife Macey said. Ice covered the baby’s body. The afterbirth was still on her.
The Sorrells had lost a calf to frostbite the winter before. They weren’t going to let that happen again. Tanner carried the freezing calf straight into their utility room.
Macey grabbed towels and a blow dryer. She worked fast to warm the little one up and clean her off. “I took out the blow dryer and warmed her up, and got her all fluffed out,” she said.
Macey stepped outside to tend the other calves. When she came back in, she found something that made her smile. The calf had made her way to the living room couch.
Soon the Sorrell’s two young children curled up beside her. “They crawled up next to her like it was just the most normal thing,” Macey said. Their 3-year-old son Gregory named the calf Sally, after a character from the movie ‘Cars.’
The family keeps about three dozen cows on their land. Bringing animals inside during emergencies is just part of life for them.
When people asked why they’d bring a cow into their home, Tanner had a simple answer. “That’s why God made a farmer,” he said.
Macey added her thoughts too. “Our animals are just like humans to us. They’re part of our family and we’ll bring them in the house any time and do whatever we can for them.”
Sally went back outside the next morning when temperatures warmed up. Her mother was happy to see her. The calf is doing great now, running around and even coming up to lick Tanner’s pant legs when he checks on her.
The Sorrells didn’t think twice about bringing that freezing calf inside. They just did what needed doing. That’s the kind of faithful stewardship we’re all called to show.
