Bi-son

When I lived on our farm we had all sorts of creatures running around. From litters of kittens, cats we saved from run down buildings; goslings whom were abandoned on the pond, to my beautiful bison, who's mother passed away while giving birth. I’ll never forget the call I received from my step-dad, “Would you like to come mother this baby buffalo?” I was living in the city at the time, so it was a big commitment to just drop everything and move back home. But, it was also the chance of a life time.

When I got to the ranch, about an hour outside of the city, I felt a sense of relief. En-caved in tall dark trees, and the grassy opened field, all the critters welcomed me back home. The fresh air hit my nostrils and the cool breeze of the mountain side made my skin crawl, in a good way. I was home. I got his gear all set up, his living quarters in the pen with a big blue tent-tarp for the unfortunate snowy weather we were having still (it was the middle of May); and got myself ready for my big gig of motherhood. As they pulled up in the big duly, trailer hitched on the back. I got a sense of fear, could I actually raise a BUFFALO?! The moment I saw his big black eyes, his stubby, dark snout and tiny, fragile body, I knew. I was already in love and so beyond ready. I couldn’t wait to begin!

I named him Buddha, since he was born the year of the B’s, for that species, I never quite understood how that worked; but my god, was he a ball of joy, his first steps were.. iffy. His little knees were wobbling as he made his way to me, we connected right away, he saw me as his mom almost instantly. I had a big, and I mean GIANT, baby bottle full of calf milk, it was rough and hard to get use to a first, but we managed. He wrapped his tiny body around mine and just started suckling. Milk running down his fuzzy chin, it was adorable. I was madly in love by this point.

By day 3, he was running around, slipping in the snow, never leaving my side. Chasing my dog, Chewy, around. He’d hop and grunt, it was literally the cutest thing my eyes have ever witnessed. It was so odd, my family and friends started calling me the buffalo girl, or buffalo soldier, like the Bob Marley song. I was living the dream. Who’d have thought I’d adopt and raise a frickin’ bison. To be fair, it probably wasn’t the oddest thing I’ve done, but.. a BISON.

Buddha would follow me everywhere, I almost had to train him like a dog just to get fat-ass off the deck. He would not stay in his pen, I never figured out how, but the little shiester would escape. Some mornings I would even find him curled up on the mat by the front door, waiting for me to come and start our daily adventures. One time, he even broke into our house (our door wouldn’t fully lock half the time, so he honestly just pushed the door with his big head). I heard the clanking of his hooves on the hardwood floor, my cat was hissing and freaking out. It was a sight to see, for sure.

It was also a sight to see me, my buffalo, my 4 cats and 2 dogs following me for our daily walks in the forest. I was some sort of animal whispering, nature woman. I still am, but it was the best moments of my life and I will never forget my time with him. Due to circumstances, and the fact that he grew into a giant buffalo and couldn’t be contained in the field with the horses, we had to send him to a new home. We sent him to a buffalo sanctuary somewhere in the mountains where the bison were free to roam. I miss that bugger every day. Until we meet again, my sweet Buddha.