Drona Leaves His Body
by Bhaktin Alysia
On Tuesday evening, Drona the Ox, one of the 77 cows in New Vrindaban’s Cow Protection Program, left his body after a traumatic fall and three days of critical condition.
This past Sunday morning, while at the big goshalla, counting the cows as part of his morning routine, Jaya Prabhupada Prabhuji noticed Drona was missing. After some time, he found Drona lying in the bottom of a small ditch surrounding the base of an old silo in the side pasture. Drona was unable to move and appeared to have fallen the night before while straining to reach fresh grass below.
Drona was promptly lifted from the ditch by tractor and brought to level ground. The compassionate Festival of Inspiration visitors that had assembled for a morning of cow bathing, brushing, and painting as part of a scheduled event to Bahulaban, quickly agreed to modify the trip to an impromptu rescue mission. Jaya Prabhupada, Bhaktin Carmen and Bhaktin Mauricio, two devotees from the Athens Vegan Cooking Class, and myself were in attendance.
Together we were able to turn Drona and expose his wounds to fresh air and sunlight. We found one large gash in his right front leg and several other raw wounds that appeared to have been caused by his attempts to prop himself up throughout the night. Immediately, we assembled a small tarp for shade and a bed of hay. Because he was not able to sit up, it was necessary to feed him water with a bottle and practically force him to swallow. He reluctantly took some grain as well. The assembled devotees chanted, painted his body, and prayed for the best.
Despite the care of Jaya Prabhupada, Drona remained in the same condition for three days. Bereft of energy, Drona left his body on Tuesday evening with a garland around his neck and Ganges water sprinkled on his forehead. Drona was one of thirteen cows currently staying at the big goshalla, separated from the rest of the herd due to their elder status and physical incapacities, which prevented them from making the pilgrimage to the Bahulaban pasture several weeks ago.
In memory of Drona the Ox and his forgotten service…
Why wasn’t a vet called. Even if the animal couldn’t be saved he should have been given something so he didn’t have to suffer. This the second animal I have read about on this site who was not given any medical care. I would love a response.