Whether you’re a city kid or country kid, it’s safe to say that this photo will tug at anyone’s heartstrings! 15-year-old Mitchell Miner from Iowa participated at the Iowa State Fair’s youth dairy cattle show. His cow, Audri, took 5th place out of 7 contestants! The two even woke up the day of the event at 3am, so they decided to take a little breather.
The two were pictured napping together after being pretty worn out! The Des Moines Register says that Mitchell and Audri spent weeks preparing for the show and were up at early hours of the morning.
Meet the award-winning cow, Audri
The Des Moines Register questioned “what is it about the photo that touched people?” to which they had a few ideas in mind.
“It conjured memories for people of growing up on a farm and the love and care for they had for their animals while raising them for county fairs and 4-H shows,” followed by, “It conjured memories of the hard work and dedication it takes to wake up at 3 a.m. for your animal.”
Although the photo has received so much love and adoration, it was also met with some negative responses. These came from people who were wondering what would happen to these lovely cows once they go back to the farm. Mitchell’s father, Jeremy, responded.
“Livestock is raised with more blood, sweat, tears than you will ever understand unless you choose to make your living from it. Livestock are raised with their well-being, being of the utmost Importance. Their health, comfort & well-being take precedence over our own. … Whether it’s milk or meat, we know that someday, they will fill hungry bellies. It’s never been about farmers not caring about animals,” he says.
Both Mitchell and his father know very well that it takes enormous love and care to tend to these animals, and more often than not, they end up creating quite the connection with each other. “She likes to lay down quite a bit,” Mitchell says. “She just enjoys my company.”
We absolutely adore this viral photo and hope to see more heartwarming stories like it soon!