Cows

Cows

The longest road completely contained within the town boundaries is about 2½ miles long. It’s a scenic road, and one end is rural-looking and has a herd of cows that grazes in a field and drinks from a pond in that field. On hot days in the summer, the cows cool themselves off by walking into the water in the pond. The traffic has picked up in recent years with hundreds of new condos built on that road. The road is used as a cut-through. Many people who travel this road are not familiar with the habits of farm animals.

One day, a friend came to station 1 to visit while I was on duty. As we talked, a call came in for a cow ‘stuck’ in the pond. Now, this person made the call from a passing car and kept going. This person, most likely, wasn’t too tuned in to cows, but probably remembered the cow is not an aquatic mammal, so if it was in the water, it MUST be stuck.

Easy to figure out, you say? No. The captain on duty pulled the hook and sent an engine, ambulance, and two boats to this “cow in the pond” call. I winced as I looked and saw my friend smiling broadly at me. I was sure I’d die a thousand deaths at his hands.

On arrival, there was no cow in the pond. So, no service needed, not that I had any idea what we were going to do anyway. Plus, I had the eerie feeling that the cows were laughing at us as they stared. Ever been laughed at by cattle? It sends your self-esteem into the gutter, as did the laughter of my friend, which continues to this day!