Paige Bartell is a former 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) student. She raised Louie the cow to ultimately be slaughtered for his meat.
The teen couldn’t let that happen, though. According to Paige, she was plagued by guilt as she watched Louie grow up and formed a bond with him. She felt like a “bad person” knowing he would be sold and killed after she was done showing him at the fair.
Louie had become like Paige’s child, as she puts it. She knew she had to act if she wanted to save his life – and that’s what she did, despite facing insults and bullying from her peers for her pro-animal rights views.
Paige found Louie a forever home at Rancho Compasion, an animal sanctuary in Nicasio, California that takes in cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and ducks. According to Miyoko Schinner, founder of Rancho Compasion, Louie’s arrival came during a time when Angel, another cow, was mourning the loss of her best friend and in need of companionship.
Much to Paige’s relief, Louie will enjoy the rest of his life at the leisurely sanctuary, safe from slaughter. Watch this video to witness Louie’s arrival to his new home!
It suprises some people that others have compassion. Most people are narcissistic, self absorbed, heartless monsters and can’t comprehend love. You need to donate to these causes though. The work they do is important and costly. I hope this young girl realizes that if she wants the rescue, she should continue to donate to those who took the animal in for care. So many times people leave it up to others, but without support, rescues don’t work.
God bless you. Keep that big heart of yours. Thank you
You are a much better person than every one of those mockers. Thank you for loving Louie and not sending him to a terrifying excruciating journey to death. Thank you to the sanctuary too for doing what you do. xx
A true hero. Thank you Paige
Thank you Paige ! Bless you for not sending Louie to the slaughter house. I am happy he is safe in a sanctuary. Love your cow, Louie !
Good for her!
Good for you Girl!!
Great going Paige Bartell, you did the right thing for Louie. The losers are those that did not support you. A big thanks to Rancho Compasion. You take in so many different animals. It is fantastic.
Merci à vous tous qui soignez et sauvez les animaux destinés à un destin tellement cruel.
MERCI INFINIMENT
Thank you Paige. You are a beautiful strong person. To go against the odds and make good things happen. The cow is lucky it met you.
Brave girl. She knew what she was doing was right, and she actually stood up against the peer pressure and bullying. Congrats to her. It would be interesting to see what she’s doing in another ten years. I bet she’ll be making a real contribution.
Paige, good job thinking and saving Louie’s life. He know and will never forget you. Great job❤️
The world needs more people like these compassionate,wonderful individuals.Well done!
Good for you Paige! How wonderful of you to recognise that all animals deserve to live and be free of a premature death for someone’s taste buds.
A good lesson for all 4 H
GOD bless you… an element of human nature seldom seem in the food industry…
thank you for not killing him, and he is happy ware he is. you are a lovely person.
I wish there were more young people out there who care about animal welfare. Paige, you are a very brave and loving young lady and I wish all the best for you. Thank you so much for your compassion. You are truly a hero.
Paige is very brave. living in a rural area I understand how she must have been treated. I am called the crazy cat lady for rescuing strays and feral cats. locally, they are called pests to be shot. people forget they keep the mouse/rat population (that eat grain and feed) down. My cats are my babies.
I love what you did Paige! i wish their were more compassionate people in the world like you! God bless you! Thanks goes to the Rancho Compassion animal sanctuary too! You are both Awesome!!
GREAT! MORE YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL THE COMPASSION THIS YOUNGSTER FEELS. PLEASE PEOPLE…GO VEGETARIAN/VEGAN…I DID…28 YEARS AGO…NO REGRETS!
GOOD FOR YOU! Little known fact, the PRIZE ANIMALS AT THE FAIR will be slaughtered for people to eat. Bless you young lady for your courage and compassion!
it’s scary that those dark souls call you Terrorist for wanting to save the life of a animal.
Really scary. Thank you for standing up to darkness.
Thank you so much Paige for doing the right thing for all the right reasons !! ~♡
I became a vegan 5 and a half years ago from learning the whole truth regarding animals not being food for starters.
God bless you ~♡
WONDERFUL! You are vegan. I am also. Feel great! I would never eat meat/dairy again!
Paige’s compassionate response to the cruel tradition of giving away a farm animal you raise to slaughter should be the norm, not the exception.
Thank you Paige.
Smart, beautiful girl. Wish the world had more Paige’s.
I am so happy reading this story of this compassionate young woman and her desire to give her precious friend a good home, instead of sending him to be slaughtered….
Now, that’s the way to treat a defenseless being! I hope Paige always maintains a compassionate heart for ALL animals. Society isn’t always right in its indoctrinations. This is an area where we must change how we see. All animals value their lives, and ALL animals lives matter.
A wonderful and very happy ending.
This is a very rare young person to glimpse beyond entrenched norms and accept the ridicule of peers, nearly unheard of among those her age when the pressure to follow the crowd is most intense. Heart, insight and the courage to act on them are the hallmarks of a natural leader and this young lady is all that. Her 4-H group may not recognize it because that organization is about cultivating leaders to constrain and maintain a status quo. But this is not the realm of great leadership – that which can carry us all above and beyond. The right people will recognize such qualities. My hope for Paige Bartell is that she finds those people as she goes forward because she has real potential. Her parents must be crazy proud.
Thanks to a very COMPASSION YOUNG LADY….her Compassion will never be forgotten <3 🙂
What a wonderful compassionate thing to do saving this cow! Paige hopefully will find it hard to send any cow to slaughter. Once you feel this over whelming compassion it becomes contagious. Before you know it you don’t want anything abused or tortured or killed on your plate. With all the wonderful choices we have to eat healthy and taste delicious, who needs to ever eat another beautiful living being again. Thank YOU Paige ❤️
It’s people like this young lady that show the signs of human evolution to a higher level of conscience,to realize these creatures like us humans care about our lives and want to experience life to its fullest,they are not here for us to slaughter,for food,recreation,entertainment,that is purely a human sickness.
It’s very sad that we do that to these animals that are so large and beautiful I drive a semi for a living and as I drive down the freeway I see these trucks go by with these Cavs and cows and pigs in them and it just hurts my heart to see them all bunched up in this truck and knowing where they’re going just so we can eat it’s really sad that we do that to these beautiful animals
We need to stop 4H programs that teach kids raising animals for slaughter is normal & good. It distressed me that these programs existed to train kids to raise beautiful animals just to be auctioned off to the highest bidder to be slaughtered. Louie is fortunate he was raised by Paige. Most of the 4H animals are not so fortunate. Most kids just get dissentized to the animals fate & start believing it’s for a good cause as they get rewarded with ribbons & status or college scholarships. This is so wrong! Please help create a campaign to end 4H. TQ.
TOTALLY AGREE…COMPASSION MUST BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS. PROMOTE VEGETARIAN/VEGAN LIFESTYLE…MUCH HEALTHIER.
Good humane decision in the best interest of her steer. Proud of her. Many tears for those animals whose human caretakers did not possess the care and humanity this young woman possessed!
Beautiful. Love to see more of this kind of activity happen.
See The Lesson by Jessamyn West (1951) in which a boy raises a steer only to learn that the steer will be slaughtered after winning the blue ribbon. I am glad matters worked out better for Louie!
I never realized thats the purpose of 4H. They are the ultimate betrayal group. Thank you for listening to your concience
Felicidades por tu noble acción, seguramente que ella sabe del HORROROSO lugar que es el matadero donde todos los pobres animales vivenel horror y el dolor más inimaginable.
Ojalá todos los seres humanos fueran como ella y quisieran mantener a todos los inocentes animales fuera del sacrificio y de sus platos, pues detrás de la carne que comemos hay MUCHÍSIMO SUFRIMIENTO Y DOLOR.
Go Paige! I wouldn’t be able to send him to slaughter either. Great job standing up for what you felt was right.