A Manitoba farmer claims his cow is larger than an Australian viral sensation
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A cow from near Steinbach, Man., is bigger than the one that’s captured global attention, its owner says.
Dozer, who was born in Alberta, lives on Karl and Rafelle Schoenrock’s Kismet Creek Farm sanctuary. The animal stands a little more than six-foot five-inches tall (1.95m), Karl says.
“We were kind of blown away. Nothing super official, like Guinness official, but that’s what we got (after measuring him),” Karl told CBC yesterday.
Despite his imposing size, Dozer is gentle with the other animals and enjoys a good scratch.
“Oh, he is a smusher,” Karl said. “You start scratching him and he’ll just push into you just to get more scratches, and he loves it.”
Dozer arrived at the sanctuary after a woman purchased him from his original owners.
Rebecca Hanuschuk bought the gentle giant off her friends after developing a special bond with the animal. She didn’t want to see him go for processing.
“I was reading out in the pasture one day and Dozer came to me,” the Anola, Man. resident told Steinbach Online Wednesday. “I just sat there looking at him until he came close enough for me to pet. After that, I went back to the pasture every day and we created a bond.”
Dozer is about a full inch taller than an Australian cow that’s received plenty of social media attention within the last week.
Photos of Knickers, a Holstein Friesian who lives in Myalup, Australia and stands about 6 feet, 4 inches (1.93m), have caught the attention of news outlets around the world.
The seven-year-old cow weighs more than 1,400 kg (3,086 lbs.).
The cow’s owner tried to sell Knickers to raise money for farmers affected by drought, but “he was just simply too big to process,” Geoff Pearson told CBC Wednesday.
Knickers
Associated Press photo
An owner of a California cow is also claiming to have the largest animal.
A cow named Cowboy from Ramona, Calif., is said to stand six-foot six-inches (1.9m) tall and weigh about 1,360 kg (3,000 lbs.).
Like his Australian and Canadian counterparts, the only thing intimidating about Cowboy is his size.
“He is very sweet and loves treats from people,” Lindsey Crouse, Cowboy’s owner, told KUSI yesterday.
Cowboy
KUSI photo
The Guinness record for the largest cow belongs to Blosom, a cow from Orangeville, Ill.
Measured from the hoof to the withers, Blosom stood at about six-foot four-inches tall.
She set the record in May 2014 but passed away the following year at the age of 13.
Top photo: Dozer and Karl Schoenrock
Karl Schoenrock photo