Ellie

This sweet girl, Ellie, was born blind. Her human guardian knew she would need specialized care, so Ellie joined the IFS family when she was just a baby. We quickly realized that in addition to being blind, Ellie wasn’t feeling well. We rushed Ellie to the hospital, where we learned that she had a septic infection in her right front leg. Septic infections can quickly become fatal, and this infection had already started eating away at the bones in Ellie’s infected leg.

Ellie needed immediate surgery to clear the infection from her bones. In preparation for surgery, it was discovered that Ellie has a serious heart murmur, which would make the surgery very high risk. But baby Ellie pulled through beautifully, and she wore an adorable cast on her leg while she healed.

When Ellie finally came home to the sanctuary, it was instantly clear that while she experiences the world differently, she is incredibly capable of navigating her environment without sight. Our happy little Ellie naturally learned to make a mental map of her surroundings, and because she had never experienced vision, she was not distressed by its absence.

But, something was missing—a friend. Thankfully, shortly after Ellie came home, we rescued Pumpkin, a calf around Ellie’s age who was battling pneumonia. Ellie and Pumpkin loved each other from the moment they met, and unbelievably, Pumpkin became a “seeing eye cow” for Ellie. Pumpkin intentionally guided Ellie to places she may not have dared to go alone, nudged her away from obstacles, helped her find her food and water, and ran to her side when Ellie called out for help.

While Pumpkin eventually moved on to be with the big herd, Ellie easily made new friends along the way. Her roommate, Faith, was always ready to let Ellie know when it is time to come inside for the night. And when Flower arrived as a calf who was born without eyes, Ellie quickly took on the role of teacher. Ellie and Flower couldn’t see each other, but they sensed that they were the same. We always knew that our darling Ellie saw with her heart, and now because of her, Flower learned to do the same.

Eventually, that bad leg from her past took its toll, and her three good legs became tired and achy. For her last few months, Ellie needed assistance to stand, and she grew more and more arthritic. Just two days short of her six-year rescue anniversary, we helped Ellie our of her perfectly imperfect body. We loved you, Ellie, and you gave us so much love. We will miss you forever, sweet girl.