A young visitor to The Peace Abbey gets a kiss from Emily the Cow with her big tongue.

Emily spent most of her short life on a dairy farm. Then one cold morning, she was loaded onto a lorry.

Soon she found herself in a holding pen at the abattoir, smells of blood and dung filled the air. Her senses alerted her that nearby her brothers and sister were dying. She saw that the cows sharing her pen were frightened exhausted and confused.

Emily was determined not to let her life be taken easily. Freedom beckoned from beyond the 5-foot fence. She hurled herself over it and fled.

For weeks, abattoir workers tried to capture her, but she had learned to fear humans with their loud angry voices and painful goads. She hid deep in the forest, foraging for what little food she could find.

For weeks, abattoir workers tried to capture her, but she had learned to fear humans with their loud angry voices and painful goads. She hid deep in the forest, foraging for what little food she could find. Kind people heard of her and left fodder there for her.

Then Meg and Lewis Randa heard about Emily and contacted the abattoir who agreed to sell “that useless cow” for a token amount. For days, she eluded the Randa family too, but finally, weak and thin, she walked up the ramp to eat the sweet-smelling feed in their borrowed trailer, and they swung the door shut. Emily was driven to her new home.

Today the Randa family, and others have come to know Emily as a vibrant individual with a fondness for bread and for having her head scratched. She loves to kiss them with her big tongue. People bring her gifts and notes. One note read simply. “I used to eat animals, I’m sorry No more”.