Cow will be treated as a pet rather than livestock after farmers discover its smiley face marking
A cow has landed the role of lawnmower for life after farmers discovered it has a smiling face on the side of its body.
Farmers Megan and Barry Coster were surprised to find that a Holstein calf, born earlier this week, had an unusual marking on its body.
ABC News reported that while the couple breeds around 700 cows a year at their farm in Ripplebrook in West Gippsland, never have they seen something quite like this.
While most cows only sport black and white spots, this cow is unlike others.
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"We've seen some number sevens or love hearts on the head and a few strange markings, but we've never seen anything that resembles a smiley face before," Mrs Coster said.
As such, the calf was given the name 'Happy'.
From the moment Barry picked up Happy, he could easily be distinguished from the rest of the herd due to his calling card - if you will.
Barry then quickly called in his wife to take a second peek.
"I couldn't believe it — I actually zoomed in at first to make sure that none of our workers had added some extra lines or anything, " Mrs Coster told the outlet.
And due to the calf's unique marking, it permanently secured his farm spot.
While many calves, even less than a month old, are made to replace the existing milking herd, Meghan revealed that 'Happy' isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"He's going to join those bulls and become a bit of a pet," Mrs Coster said.
"A few of our workers are keen to have him as a pet and a lawnmower in their yards as well."
Similarly, in 2017, a bull calf stunned farmers after being born with a perfectly imprinted heart on its forehead.
The Press and Journal reported that the Gibbons family, who run Furmiston Farm near Carsphairn, Dumfries and Galloway, found the unique marking on their two-week-old calf when he was brought in for tagging.
Tessa Gibbons, 43, who also runs a face painting business, said the pattern left people puzzled.
She told the outlet: “When I showed the picture on Facebook, lots of people thought I had painted it on the calf as I own a face painting business called DG Funkyfaces.”
She said of the animal: "He a little sweetheart."
Ahhhhhh, does your heart not just melt?
Charisa Bossinakis