"Bonnie" is a heifer I won at our national youth show finals in 2000. Since our family are all Texas A&M graduates, she was named to honor the Aggies lost in the Bonfire tragedy of 1999. I never dreamed I would be celebrating her 21st birthday in 2021.

As Bonnie started to age into her late teens, she began to lose weight, and started to go down-hill rapidly in 2018. I was afraid it was cancer but was willing to do everything I could to keep her comfortable in her final days. So, I pulled her in off pasture and started her on a diet of half 10% stocker feed and half Chaffhaye.

Within 6 months she was an entirely different animal. In fact, she looked so good that we entered her at the 2020 Ft Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. The judge was so shocked he had to confirm with show management that he had the correct birthday on his card. He said she was the oldest cow he had ever seen at a show and raved about how fantastic she looked for her age.

This year we celebrated Bonnie's 21st birthday and we are hoping to celebrate many more to come!

Julie Pack, DVM
Lazy JP Ranch
lazyjpranch.com