Cuddle with mini Highland cows at an Easter celebration this week
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RIGBY — You can come cuddle with mini Highland cows and meet the Easter Bunny at a new event this year in Rigby.
The details
“Cuddles and Cows Easter Celebration” will be taking place on Friday, April 3, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Rigby Lake Memory Care, located at 470 Rigby Lake Drive. It’s a free community event.
“We’re just excited to be able to bring something different to the area,” said Alexis Romrell, administrator of Rigby Lake Memory Care and the event organizer.
Rigby Lake Memory Care specializes in residential care for those who struggle with memory issues like Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to its website. Romrell wanted to do a fun celebration this year that would involve her residents and their families.
“I started thinking, ‘What can I do for Easter to give back to the community but make it different?'” she said. “Things like this bring my residents so much joy, especially when it comes to animals and kids!”
Romrell came up with the idea for the Cuddles and Cows Easter Celebration after the cows visited in early March.
“They go into other assisted living and memory care communities, like in Idaho Falls and Shelley. Then they came up to Rigby to see my residents with the cows,” she said.
It was a hit. Making memories with her residents fills her heart.
The cows
There will be two mini Highland cows present. One named Zara, a girl, 2 years old, and one named Burrow, a boy, 1 year old.
The cows are being brought by their owner, Shantell Goodenough. She runs a farm in Shelley with three mini Highland cows and three mini goats. She created a business with them a year ago called Posh Mini Farm.
“People can actually come right to the farm. I do what’s called ‘Cuddle and Feeds,'” Goodenough said. “They get their own time in with the cows, and we provide food.”
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Goodenough said she has had people with disabilities or dealing with illnesses come to the farm to visit the cows. The animals have provided a sense of ease and comfort. They are friendly, sweet, and lovable, she added.
The miniature Highland cow is a small breed of cattle. They tend to be docile, calm, gentle, easygoing, and affectionate, according to Rolling 7 Ranch Co. online.
Goodenough brings them out to different places, too, and offers one-of-a-kind experiences.
“We do weddings with our mini cows, we do birthday parties, we go to events, and then, of course, we have started going to these homes for the elderly, and it just gives them something to be excited about. That’s honestly been my favorite thing of all, seeing the residents and their faces,” Goodenough said.
Goodenough will have bunny ears on her cows at the event, and they will be on their halters.
“We are going to doll up our girl one and put glitter in her hair and all the fun stuff,” she said.
She will have mini Highland cow stuffed animals for sale, along with hats.
Prizes
There will be an area set up for pictures and a special treat from the Easter bunny, with booths from businesses and prizes for kids. Additionally, there will be raffle baskets for parents to enter.
“We will also have Easter eggs. We are getting bigger prizes from the community donations. So it’ll be a little bit different than your traditional Easter egg hunt,” Romrell said. “Each of my residents will have eggs to give to the kids.”
Some eggs will contain prize tickets. There will be prizes for different age groups, including: 0-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. The bigger prizes will be bikes for each age group, and some eggs will contain cash prizes.
As long as the weather is nice, Romrell plans to hold the event both indoors and outdoors.
There’s been a large and positive response to the Cuddles and Cows Easter Celebration on Facebook, and Romrell hopes to make it a tradition each year with Goodenough.
“We’re super excited to see what it brings,” Romrell said.
