Worldwide support has been shown for a cow who “pretended” to be asleep in order to avoid being milked.
Cow Doris, who lives with a 200-strong herd on an Isle of Wight dairy farm, was featured in a US television program. Her story also got more than 1.5 million views on TikTok.
In the footage posted, John Brodie, a farmhand, is seen attempting to get a grumpy-looking Doris outside on a chilly morning two weeks ago.
He had recorded the film at Reads Farm, close to Newport, just for Laura, his wife, to enjoy.
“Laura thought it was funny and put it on TikTok – I didn’t even know about it,” said Brodie.
When Radio One DJ Greg James played the tape on his morning show the following day, that all changed. Thousands of people expressed sympathy for Doris’ unwillingness to get up so early.
One commenter said, “I identify as Doris,” while another referred to the cow as their personal “spirit animal.”
When Brodie was subsequently interviewed by reporter Jeanne Moos for CNN, he discussed how Doris had a history of being “cheeky.”
Brodie told the BBC that Doris had received messages from “literally everywhere” and that the attention had been “crazy.”
“It’s really surprising but I think it’s a really good thing – I think any positive exposure for anything to do with the dairy industry, particularly at the moment, is probably a good thing,” he said.
He gushed about how much he adored the relationship he had developed with Doris, who frequently tried to groom him as if he belonged to the herd.
“Doris has a fantastic personality – she’s definitely more person than cow,”Brodie added.
