It takes a village to rescue a heifer

The morning started out like any other for Fallbrook resident Michelle Leslie. On Jan. 19, she attended Mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, and was driving home about 10 a.m. Her routine, placid drive took a unique twist after she turned onto Brooke Road.

“I see a cow on the run on Brooke Road with a broken rope hanging from her neck,” said Leslie. “This cow was trotting down the road at breakneck speed.” The animal, as it turned out, was a 600 lb. Golden Charlais Cross heifer, named Barbie.

Given the rural environment and popularity of 4H and FFA projects, Leslie assumed the young, blonde heifer was important to someone in the area.

“I kept following her; she was running through traffic and when she reached Winterhaven Road, she turned and was heading straight for South Mission,” said Leslie. “I was thinking about how I could corral her. I didn’t want her to be hit by a car and if she had reached South Mission [Road], I hate to think what could have happened.”

Leslie carefully used her vehicle to guide the heifer onto Clearcrest Lane, a street just east of Fallbrook Union High School District property.

Meanwhile, Leslie called a friend who works at Fallbrook Fertilizer for advice.

“My friend and one of her co-workers said they would meet me on Clearcrest,” said Leslie.

The employees from Fallbrook Fertilizer, in turn, called longtime 4H expert Lynn Orcutt, who owns Fallbrook Barber Shop. Orcutt promptly closed the barber shop and she and her son joined the others in departing for Clearcrest. Fortunately, the section of Clearcrest Lane the animal was on ended in a cul-de-sac.

While trying to coerce the heifer into remaining in one place, Leslie said a neighborhood resident said she thought she recognized the animal.

“Someone in the neighborhood recognized the cow as belonging to the Sehnert family and thought it was Taryn Sehnert’s 4H project,” said Leslie. Taryn, 13, is an eighth grade student at Potter Jr. High School.

A call then went out to the Sehnert family, whose home is located off Brooke Road.

Meanwhile, Doug Sehnert, Taryn’s dad, and Zach Chubbs were both on foot actively trying to locate the heifer, who had cleverly found a way to escape the fenced property.

“A school bus driver helped out too – he told Zach he saw which direction the cow was headed,” said Leslie.

Sehnert, an agriculture teacher at Fallbrook High School, got his truck and trailer ready and headed out to bring Barbie home.

Leslie said the team of community members was eventually able to confine the heifer to the front yard of one home on Clearcrest.

“Another member of the community stopped to help because she had just picked up some feed from Fallbrook Fertilizer and thought we could use some to attract the heifer and help her relax,” said Leslie.

When Sehnert arrived on the scene, the heifer began to respond favorably.

“Doug is so knowledgeable; he went in very quietly and watched the animal’s body language; no one was injured,” said Orcutt.

The adventure of Barbie the runaway heifer lasted about an hour and a half.

“It took that long to safely get a hold of her,” said Leslie.

The heifer was returned safely to the Sehnert’s property and Taryn found out about her heifer’s adventure when she got home from school that day and heard the details from her dad and mom, Trisha Sehnert.

“The thing about Barbie is that she wants to do things her way,” said Taryn, with a smile. “She has her own ideas.”

The Sehnerts explained that Barbie was born in April of 2011 and will continue to be a project animal until the San Diego County Fair in June when she will be presented for sale as a Market Beef Heifer. At that time she is expected to weigh about 1,200 lbs.

“It was quite a community effort; I guess we can say ‘it takes a village to rescue a heifer.’”

Michelle said. “And this one was really cute!”

To Doug Sehnert, the fact that many people pitched in to help was meaningful.

“I really appreciate that we live in a community where everyone still helps each other out,” said Sehnert.

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