Rescued blind cow's reaction to being gifted her own hay bale is too precious: 'She is magnificent'

If you're having a not-so-nice day, Helen the blind cow is here to brighten it. This four-legged brown bundle of joy, who lived on a dairy farm for most of her life, was brought to her now-forever home at Uncle Neil's the day after her 19th birthday. Uncle Neil's Home is a New Jersey-based farm animal rescue facility. In a post shared online upon welcoming Helen to the facility, the non-profit stated: "She is magnificent. Helen is intelligent, stoic, independent and watching her experience her 'firsts' in sanctuary has been nothing short of amazing."

"The first few days were very hard on her. It was a long ride, she was in a new environment for the first time in her life, her food was different, her space was different. Everything changed in an instant and she was scared. Through tons of love, conversation, and music- which she loves- she began to eat, settle in, and has been feeling much better," the post added.

Helen quickly became a favorite among the facility's social media followers. @uncleneilshome has uploaded many of Helen's videos on TikTok and Instagram garnering more than 6 million views. A video of her reaction to being gifted her own personal round hay bale, in particular, had thousands of people swooning over her. In the video, the adorable 19-year-old is seen enjoying her gift wholeheartedly and having the time of her life playing with it.

The video was captioned, "Helen has a new love in her life: Her very own personal round bale. That's 800 pounds of fresh, tasty hay that also doubles as her own personal scratching post for all the hard-to-reach places!" Helen seemed beyond thrilled as she brushed and scratched against the hay and gave it a taste test. Seeing her love her first hay bale so much, netizens' hearts were warmed.

"Beautiful girlie and thank you so much for giving her her life back," wrote @Indie. "Miss Helen enjoy your wonderful life. Blessings to those that saved you" commented @user7981431963629. "In a world that can be so cruel it is beautiful to see this heartwarming story," shared @staghorn58. "I am crying... she both breaks my heart for what she's been through.. and uplifts my heart for who she is now," added @michelegranberg. 

Sharing her health update, @uncleneilshome added, "Helen has some pretty bad osteoarthritis which is currently being managed with medication. It’s definitely helping her because she spends no less than 10 hours a day grazing happily around her pasture! We tested for communicable bovine illnesses, and one test came back positive, but our vet thinks it may be a fluke and we’re retesting her. Until that test comes back negative, Helen has to remain in quarantine and separated from the herd. As soon as we have the results, she’ll be able to make friends. She will never be part of our main herd because it wouldn’t be safe for her, but we have some friends in mind for when the time comes!"

Helen also loves hugs and enjoys listening to windchimes. A video of her swaying to the sounds of wind chimes, is captioned: "Helen loves listening to her wind chimes. She stands in the opening of her room for hours throughout the day and listens as they blow in the wind. Thank you again to everyone who sent her windchimes from her Amazon Wishlist!"

Providing an update on how Helen did after a week of being rescued, a video shows her expressing her gratitude through gentle head-butts with her caretaker. The caption read, "One week of life with the most beautiful soul in the world. Helen might not be able to see us, but it doesn’t stop her from knowing exactly where we are to give us hugs. She is so smart, so happy, and so full of life. Every day is the best day ever with Helen."

After rescuing their dog in 2018, the founders of Uncle Neil's Home were inspired to help other animals. They bought a farm a year later and turned it into a safe shelter for many animals, including cats, chickens, cows, ducks, goats, pigs and sheep. This sanctuary is dedicated to rescuing farm animals and providing them with permanent homes, as well as educating, spreading awareness and advocating for cruelty-free lifestyles.