Adopted Highland coo Molly finds moo lease of life thanks to Borders rescuer Wilma

Molly Corona, so called because she was born on April 6 in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown at Langlee in Galashiels, was unable to suckle and, after being abandoned by her mother, was in danger of not surviving unless she could be hand-reared.

Her owner contacted Wilma Howe, of Earlston, knowing of her passion for adopting and caring for rescue animals, and she took her in at just three days old.

“She had been in the field a couple of days but hadn’t suckled her mum, who had just walked off and left her when I got the call,” Wilma said.

“She wouldn’t take a bottle and she came to me on a wee trailer looking like a wee stick insect.

“The owners said they didn’t think there was going to be much I could do.

“I would sit in the trailer with her for hours talking to her and trying to coax her into taking the bottle.

“I gave her handfuls of grass and she was eating that before she drank milk, which was quite a bizarre thing for a calf to do.

“After four weeks of persevering and getting her to try bottles, but having to tube-feed her, Molly decided to suckle a bottle. It was such a relief. It would’ve brought a tear to a glass eye.”

Now aged 11 weeks, Molly Corona is firmly part of the family, having made herself right at home with Wilma, her fiance Dylan Hooper and their rescue dogs Odin and Darcy, as well as cats Neeps and Tatties, at their caravan near Glendarg Farm.

“She needed a three-day course of antibiotics and came on leaps and bounds after that, having never looked back”, Wilma, 52, added.

“Molly now loves her fruit three times a day. She’s a fan of bananas, apples and pears after she’s had her bottle of milk.

“I think she believes she’s a dog or cat, she really does.

“We go walks around the field every day and she follows me everywhere. She’s never far from my side. It’s like something out of Born Free.”

No stranger to rescue animals Wilma, a former carer, at one point had 13 rottweilers and two Yorkshire terriers in her care at the same time, yet she admits she’s petrified of mice and hamsters.

“All of our pets have been rescue animals,” she said. “I’ve been very blessed.

“Molly is our first cow. She’s going nowhere, though. She’s part of the family now.

“At first, I just didn’t know what to do with her. I was panicking because I didn’t want her not to survive.

“I spent a lot of time reassuring her and speaking to her. Now she moos when she hears me getting up in the morning and I moo back at her. Wherever I go, she follows me and she runs like a dog in the garden.

“She’s not got a bad bone in her body, and the dogs haven’t been daunted by her whatsoever.”

Wilma and Dylan intend to keep her as part of the family as she grows and have enjoyed welcoming visitors to see her, with more than 30 stopping by at different times in one day to pet her last week.

“She makes a good therapy cow as she loves getting brushed,” Wilma added.

“Her wee horns are starting to come through now.

“Her mum is quite big, but I’m grateful I don’t think she’ll ever look like her dad as he is huge.

“Hopefully, she’ll just grow to normal Highland cow size.

“As long as she keeps getting used to people and being calm around them, we shouldn’t have any problems.

“She brings smiles to our faces every day and has really lifted our spirits during lockdown.”