On July 4th, the Ranch Managers were awakened by a phone call reporting that a yearling calf had escaped and was wandering down Fort Christmas Road. Cowboy Luke arrived first and found "spotted calf" grazing along side the west pasture fence. It would later be determined that a malfunctioning electric gate had not closed completely, allowing the yearling to escape. Following a series of poorly executed maneuvers using bread and a rope, Cowboy Luke was able to lasso the calf and move her into a neighbors pasture. However, detaining her proved to be another story. After several aborted attempts to tie her off to a tree and then a tractor, a decision was made to try a "free return". The gate was opened and Spotted Calf ran across the street and down the fence line, around the corner and up to the Lake Douglas Ranch west entrance and pushed her way through the gate. Spotted Calf then ran to catch up with the rest of the herd, with her lasso rope trailing along side her like a leash. It was during this "rescue mission" that Cowboy Luke and Cowboy Dan noticed that the spotted calf had swelling in her milk sack and had other signs of bovine pregnancy! She was immediately added to the "watch list."

Bessie, (that's me!) the
Lake Douglas Ranch Quality Assurance Cow

Lake Douglas Ranch
PO Box 1133
Christmas, FL  32709