Run, Cow! Mooove it! Run!

Or: Sane Cow Disease

Up in Great Falls, Montana, a cow escaped from the slaughterhouse line last Thursday and evaded authorities for three hours:

As police scrambled to head off the cow on the west side of the river, a veterinarian rushed to the scene to administer tranquilizers.

Reaching the shore, the heifer ran across Bay Drive to the railroad tracks.

She turned north and followed the tracks for a while, eventually becoming cornered at a chain link fence near Central Ave. and Interstate 15.

Breathing heavily and foaming at the mouth, the animal juked an approaching animal control officer and, like a skilled running back, turned on the speed and ran through the perimeter set up by officials.

Now it looks like she'll be spared:

A spirited cow that jumped a slaughterhouse gate and evaded capture for six hours has drawn clemency pleas and may not be doomed after all.

Appeals to spare the life of the 1,200-pound heifer came from across the nation after she fled Mickey's Packing Plant on Thursday. She had several near-death experiences before walking into a makeshift pen and then a stock trailer.

She was nearly struck by road and rail traffic, she almost drowned while crossing the Missouri River and she refused to be subdued by three tranquilizer darts.

Stories here and here.