06/14/2026
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One of the hardest parts of raising calves is learning that saving a life and prolonging a death can be two different things.
Recently, I had a calf with atresia coli. On the outside, she looked like a calf that ought to have a chance. Bright eyes. A sweet personality. The kind of calf that makes you start mentally planning what pen she'll move to next month. The problem was that inside, part of her large intestine had never formed correctly. The plumbing simply wasn't there. Milk could go in. Life could not go on.
I think one of the greatest misunderstandings people have about animal care is the difference between dominion and domination. In Genesis, God gave mankind dominion over the animals. He didn't tell us to dominate them. Those are not the same thing. Domination says, "I can make this animal keep going." Dominion asks, "Should I?"
That can be a painful question.
Because sometimes the answer is more medicine. Sometimes it's another treatment. Sometimes it's staying up with a calf that has a very good chance of getting better. But sometimes the answer is recognizing that no amount of wishful thinking, determination, or stubbornness is going to change the outcome. Trust me, as a Dutch person, I have personally tested the theory that stubbornness can solve everything. It cannot. Jerseys have also tested this theory extensively. They have reached the same conclusion, although usually after getting their heads stuck in something.
The calf doesn't understand medical terminology. She doesn't know what atresia coli means. She doesn't know what a prognosis is. She only knows whether her belly hurts. Whether she feels miserable. Whether she is comfortable. Whether she can do normal calf things like drink her bottle and take a nap in the sunshine.
A good farmer does not measure success by how long an animal's heart continues beating. A good farmer measures success by whether that animal was given every reasonable chance at life and every possible kindness when life is no longer possible. Sometimes that means fighting hard for a calf. Sometimes it means making sure she does not suffer simply because we are struggling to say goodbye.
We talk a lot about animals deserving a good life, and they do. Every single one of them. But they also deserve a good death. A peaceful one. A death that comes before days of pain, starvation, discomfort, or fear. A death that puts their needs ahead of our emotions.
This calf deserved a chance. She also deserved mercy when it became clear that her body had been built with a defect no amount of care could fix.
Sometimes dominion looks like saving a life.
And sometimes dominion looks like loving an animal enough to let them go before suffering becomes their final chapter.
