Do you still remember Fipsi?
Too small, no long life expectancy, no benefit
So shortly after Fipsi's birth in June 2014, his life was to come to an end? The farmer knew that it would be difficult to feed the small bull calf. But Fipsi was in luck when an animal lover took notice of him and wanted to help.
She immediately contacted Gut Aiderbichl. Years of experience with small-boned cattle made it not too difficult for the keepers to give little Fipsi a good life. Everyone was delighted when the little bull calf arrived at the farm in Henndorf. His fur was snow-white with brown spots and he had huge googly eyes with eternally long eyelashes.
Pamplono and Fipsi became close friends
Right from the first days after his arrival, you could tell that Fipsi and Pamplono got on well together and this grew into a real friendship over time. Fipsi's friend Pamplono was also a rarity in our cattle barn. He didn't grow any fur, he had a protruding lower jaw and his head shape resembled that of a deer. Even his farmer did not have the heart to slaughter Pamplono.
Handicaps are a natural enrichment
For humans, it is often unimaginable that an animal with a handicap should still have joy in life. But we experience it day after day in many of our animals that a disability on the body does not affect their happiness, their joy or their quality of life.
The balance between weaknesses and strengths
Fipsi and Pamplono simply accepted each other as they were. Fipsi's short stature or Pamplono's nakedness were no problem for either of them. Animals do not question otherness. Only for us humans is otherness something conspicuous and sometimes oppressive.
We knew that Fipsi's life would be short
Fipsi's heart was not the healthiest and his life became more difficult. The time started when he didn't want to eat anymore and the vet diagnosed heart problems. Medication and the best care could still help for a while, but Fipsi signaled to us that his life force was running out.
He was five years old when his life candle was extinguished. He died in April 2019 and his friend Pamplono left us a few weeks later.
Two little stars in the sky shine every evening above the cattle barn at Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf: Fipsi and his friend Pamplono. We will always remember the two of them.
