OXFORD, Iowa — Other farm animals, mo(ooooo)ve aside. Angel the cow has become famous on her Iowa farm, and now, she's being recognized with a spot in an upcoming calendar.
Angel is a miniature zebu — also known as humped cattle — that was born with a deformity in her back legs. Instead of being put down years ago as a vet suggested, she has survived through the care of the Iowa Farm Sanctuary.
Her life improved even further when she got hooked up with a wheelchair. Now, she's known around the farm as " the little calendar girl."
"For Angel to get used to the wheelchair, it was almost immediate. Once she got up, she knew how to balance herself because we were holding her back legs before, and walking around with her," said Jered Camp, the co-founder of Iowa Farm Sanctuary. "But once she had the wheelchair, it took her maybe five minutes to really figure out how to not fall backwards. But once she got that balance, she was gone and she would walk around everywhere."
Around the farm, Angel is something of a socialite. She greets the other animals and runs around trails during the moments she gets to be in the wheelchair.
"Once she gets in her wheelchair, she knows. She's like 'all right, it's time to explore. I'm ready to go, I want to find the best grass I want to find the flowers,'" Camp said.
Angel's use of her Walkin' Wheels chair has landed her a spot in the 2022 Walkin' Pets calendar, which celebrates animals with limitations.
"We want to really reach out to as many people as we possibly can about our mission here at Iowa Farm Sanctuary and what we're doing, and Angel's one of our best spokespersons for that mission," Camp said.
Despite the calendar, Angel doesn't seem to be letting fame get to her. She's pretty comfortable right where she is with her caretakers and other animals on the farm.
Other disabled animals featured in the calendar include dogs, pigs, chickens and sheep.