Marc Stewart lives on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He raises the usual blend of working animals and livestock, but there are two residents who have stolen his heart completely.
Hamish and Kyloe are both Scottish Highland cows, and they’re unbelievably sweet.
Hamish is a red behemoth with massive horns. He’s a 2,000-pound Highland whose breed originated on mainland Scotland. As for Kyloe, the black cow, he’s a different type of Highland, which are called Kyloes in Gaelic. These smaller, darker cows come from the western isles of Scotland.
Despite their massive size, the two of them are incredibly gentle and loving creatures. While their horns may look scary, Highlands mostly use them for scratching their itchy backs! Marc said they’re also handy for “knocking down brush to graze” and “predator control.”
Marc first adopted Hamish when the cow was just 10 months old. The farmer quickly learned that he is more affectionate with humans than anyone could have expected.
The gentle boy adores being brushed, closing his eyes in bliss as Marc grooms him each day. It wasn’t long at all before the two of them became inseparable friends!
Their relationship is special, but it’s not unprecedented.
“Highlands have a long history of living with humans,” Marc wrote on Facebook. “Early Scots would sometimes keep the family cow(s) inside their homes during the winter. A woven wattle fence would separate the animal’s living areas from that of its owners, with both sharing the added warmth.”
A few years after adopting Hamish, Marc decided to bring Kyloe home as well. Kyloe was sickly and small for his breed, so no other farmers wanted him. While Hamish is docile and calm, Kyloe is a typical younger sibling with lots of energy. But even he couldn’t resist the cuddle sessions with his dad and bovine brother!
Marc spends plenty of time hanging out with Hamish and Kyloe in their pasture. The animals trust him with their lives, and Marc would never let anything bad happen to them.
In fact, the farmer has become so attached to his Highlands that he’s started the process of making his Thistle Do Farm a nonprofit.
He hopes to transform his property into a sanctuary to rescue injured, sick, or unwanted farm animals. So far, COVID-19 has slowed down his plans to expand, but he still welcomes donations and hopes to implement the change soon.
Is there anything better than seeing a gentle giant melting with love for their favorite human? We don’t think so!
Watch the three of them hang out together in the video below, and don’t forget to share this story to make someone smile.
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