In the village of Molodezhny, which is located half an hour's drive from Yekaterinburg, you can find an unusual farm. However, the owner himself does not call his house anything but a shelter for cows. Viktor Grishin is a reserve officer. But he found himself not in the army, but in saving cows. In the Ural countryside, Grishin opened a boarding house for old and sick cows. Cows there live out their lives in warmth, love and peace, " writes the newspaper Such Things.
It all started with the fact that Victor became a vegetarian and was looking for natural products for himself, including milk. I found farmers near Yekaterinburg and shopped there for several years. But on one of the visits, the beloved farm was empty, the cow was slaughtered for meat. That's when Victor decided to save at least one cow. Now he and his wife take to themselves the cows that have already outlived their days or are preparing for slaughter.
There are fifteen residents in the Ladybug Shelter today. This figure is fickle: someone from the herd goes to cow paradise, someone comes from the world of non-vegetarians. The Night cow, for example, arrived here from a neighboring village. Her owner became seriously ill, and he no longer had the strength to look after the cow. And Victor, just when the neighbor put the burenka up for sale, sold his car. He believes that everything happily coincided: he saved the Night's life, and this amount — 70 thousand — helped her former owner in treatment.
However, later the expenses turned out to be even more: the cow had joint problems, and her leg was sore and festering. An operation was performed, part of the hoof was amputated. But the Night has adapted to walking on what is left, and today feels quite good. When Victor approaches, the cow stretches her muzzle under his hand, petting like a dog.
"In summer, cows are free, where they walk, they also leave their manure there. But in winter, you need to clean it. That's why we invite assistants. Even if parents and children come on the weekend, it's entertainment for them, communication with animals, and help for us. You can take a walk in the forest, graze cows," Viktor Grishin told reporters.
Victor himself has not been grazing cows for a long time - there is no time. But he watches them remotely: on the neck of the most responsible burenka, Mats, hangs a bag with a cell phone connected to a tracking program. The dog Gita also helps the owner. The mongrel perceives the herd as his flock. And she herself is the leader in it: she can cuddle up to cows, or maybe bark properly when young bulls are naughty or go into the wilds of the forest. Victor says that he did not apply any special cynological knowledge in relation to Gita: the smart dog understands everything perfectly well.
Grishins don't live well: they sell manure and hay. Victor knows how to work with his hands, takes part-time jobs, sometimes works as a taxi driver. Besides, relatives live nearby: when it's hard, they help each other. Grishins have never earned money from milk. When it was, it was distributed to the neighbors. And now the elderly herd practically does not give milk.
"The neighbors looked at me at first," Victor laughs, they did not understand what kind of shelter it was. What for? But in seven years they got used to it. They realized that we are normal people. Now we help each other. And the locals don't ask any more questions."
Now Ladybug is a big community: the cows have guardians, there are people who help the Grishin family. Among the custodians of cows, in addition to representatives of Russia, there are also residents of France and Great Britain. Someone donates the entire amount every month (about 12 thousand rubles are needed for one cow), and some unite two, three or four people and "feed" the cow collectively.
There are also amazing philanthropists here. As the head of the family told reporters, one famous Moscow dentist, an Indian, calls before important events and asks not only to feed his cow, but also to explain aloud to her who the gift is from. Then, according to the faith of the Hindus, the nursing person (even remotely) will be fine.
Photos from Viktor Grishin's personal archive.