A Texas man took one local Petco’s “all leashed pets are welcome” slogan a bit too far by bringing in his steer.
The man, Vincent Browning, led his 1,600-pound African Watusi right into Petco outside Houston as carefree as if he were walking a dog.
The animal was so huge it just barely cleared the sliding doors with its horns. The steer even knew how to enter and exit the sliding doors properly by ducking its head.
Once the steer got inside, the gentle giant was greeted with a warm welcome from employees and customers.
People could not believe it as Oliver the curious steer looked around the store.
Browning said he wanted to “call their bluff;” however, the joke was on him.
The video was posted to Oliver’s Facebook page this week and has since gone viral with over 1 million views.
Look at that smile:
It’s been a day. Here are some sweet kitteh photos from Mike in Oly:
Sweet Pearl
Handsome Oliver
Mike included Gracie, who has crossed the rainbow bridge because she looked so much like Steve
Here’s an open thread to talk about good things and give us all some relief.
Jeffro
Has anyone mentioned/linked to the swarm of poisonous toads taking over in Florida ?
The Post says it’s in Palm Beach Gardens??
I dunno, Florida…
trnc
Christ, what an asshole.
TaMara (HFG)
@trnc: I’m thinking you’re the asshole and can leave this thread now.
trollhattan
Holy moly!
Maybe the cutest thing I’ve ever seen took place in a Petco. Was shopping and heard clip-clop-clip. Around the corner came two little girls down my aisle, leading their little goat on a shopping adventure. Awwwwwww.
debbie
The steer also kind of “diagonalized” his horns to get through. Very impressive!
satby
Those horns look awfully heavy. Don’t they trim them or something for the poor steer?
TaMara (HFG)
@satby: I think they are hollow.
JWR
@satby: Was wondering the same thing. Surely, they can’t be solid bone-heavy!
Roger Moore
@debbie:
It makes sense when you think about it. I remember seeing this video of a bull elk in a shop in Estes Park and being surprised that it didn’t wreak havoc with its antlers. Then I thought about it a bit more and realized that it’s had a lot of practice; it needs to be able to run through a forest without getting its antlers caught in anything, because getting caught when there’s a predator around would be very bad news. That steer isn’t as worried about predators and probably isn’t in a forest, but it almost certainly has plenty of practice maneuvering through tight spaces.
Mary G
The steer has a FaceBook page? His owner is very thirsty.
Grace is a dead ringer for Steve.
Roger Moore
@JWR:
Horn isn’t bone. It’s keratin, the same material in hair, nails, and hooves. And take a look at the hump on that steer’s back; it has some hefty muscles to move its head around.
spudgun
@trollhattan: Aww, I love goats! I would love to have seen that…
Leto
@trollhattan: *Crosses fingers* Hopes Avalune doesn’t see this… hopes Avalune doesn’t see this… hopes Avalune doesn’t see this…
Honeslty wouldn’t mind having a few more pups around but we need to be out of our midget apartment.
JWR
@Roger Moore: Thank you! Just went Googling and found this: “Horns are hollow extensions of skull bone covered with a thin layer of epidermal tissue, the outer sheath of which is a keratin covering like a fingernail.”
TaMara (HFG)
@Mary G: He is a show steer – he’s a personality and guest stars at events and things, so it makes sense why he would have his own celebrity page. We may have never heard of him, but i guess he’s a big deal in certain circles.
debbie
@Roger Moore:
I’d love some of that ability. I’m always whacking my head when I reach into the refrigerator.
Major Major Major Major
I bet Beto would’ve tried to speak on top of it.
moops
@TaMara (HFG): yeah, a working cow is not that spotless and perfectly groomed. That’s a show cow.
Mike J
If Mike in Oly is in Olympia, Washington, he needs to tell the Washington Democratic party to get rid of the caucus. Why go through all the extra trouble and expense for many fewer people participating?
Open comments through April 4.
https://www.waelectioncenter.com/
Spanky
@Leto:
Low ceilings?
CJWhite
That steer is my hero of today. What will tomorrow bring for my hero?
MagdaInBlack
Beautiful animal. I used to love the steer shows at county fairs….these great big animals following their 4 -H kids around the ring like puppies.?
Mary G
@TaMara (HFG): I had no idea that such a thing as a show steer existed. Explains why he was so well-behaved and calm in the store. I learn so many things on Balloon Juice.
germy
Sweet Pearl looks like she’d make a fine judge. Very dignified and fair.
germy
Bringing a beautiful animal into a store full of animal lover employees. No surprise.
Amir Khalid
Grace was a lovely cat. But resembling another cat is surely not a capital crime in America. Needs a comma after “bridge” to clear that up.
MagdaInBlack
@Mary G:
He’s worked with Oliver since he was born. Oliver is a giant horned hooved pampered petted bathed and groomed beauty contestant.
My father-in-law was an Ag. Teacher, FFA advisor and 4-H advisor, as well as livestock judge. We did the fair circuit for years. Its a cult ?
Roger Moore
The joke will definitely be on him if Oliver has an accident and he has to clean up after it.
Barbara
@MagdaInBlack: I went to a grange in Connecticut where a farmer had brought a steer. That animal was massive. My au pair at the time was from Peru and had a degree in animal husbandry and she and the farmer had a long discussion about the merits of various breeds for various tasks.
Frankensteinbeck
Hey, TaMara! What did you want to do about my book? Put it up on the next Sunday writers chat?
TaMara (HFG)
@Amir Khalid: Okay, that is the comment of the night and brought my first laugh of the day. Thank you.
TaMara (HFG)
@Frankensteinbeck: Give me another week – let’s do the weekend after. Send me a jpg of the cover, a link to purchase and you know deal, you must write something about writing. ;-)
NotMax
Somehow unsurprised that a steer can … steer.
Leto
@Spanky: It’s like a clown car in here! ?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jeffro: You spelled Floriduh wrong.
Frankensteinbeck
@TaMara (HFG):
I can write things about writing. Oh, yes. How do I contact you?
MagdaInBlack
@Barbara:
Thats a conversation I would have enjoyed hearing ?
Barbara
@MagdaInBlack: The farmer was impressed with her knowledge, and told me how few Americans realized the importance of animals in most of the world.
MagdaInBlack
@Barbara:
Most of us are so far removed from the source/the earth, we have no clue.
( Don’t get me started on that! ?)
Avalune
Of course I see the post about animals! I’d already seen the steer visiting Petco yesterday and while it’s adorable Leto should be relieved no one took video of the goats in the store because while I admire the steer I ❤️ goats!
A well mannered steer isn’t going to test the policy but someone’s pet alligator might?
trnc
@TaMara (HFG):Sorry, just saw this. I apologize for offending you, and I realize that it was meant to be a bit of fun on a crappy news day. However, I think the guy is a jerk, even if it led to something fun.
Maybe I’m overthinking this, but there’s a trend in challenging every goddamn thing that comes up. In this case, where the “bring your pet” obviously refers to dogs, cats, the occasional iguana, this guy brought a freakin’ bull that barely made it in the door. Maybe I’m the only person here who sees how this could go sideways if something had set off the bull, at which point there is zero chance that the bull who barely got through the door gets out without damaging property and/or people.
Again, sorry to harsh your evening, but that’s why I made the comment that I did. I generally love the animal stories you post and often show the pics to my daughter, who never tires of cute cats and dogs.
CaseyL
@Amir Khalid: There can be only one!
(Good catch, BTW)
Barbara
@trnc: Perhaps save the ire for an event where something actually does go wrong, like someone’s companion dog mauls a child before, during or after a flight, which now seems to happen every other day. Which is to say, there is so much actual bad stuff you don’t have to get worked up over things that might have gone off track but turned out okay. I call this the law of near misses and it has been a star player in my anti-anxiety line up for quite a while now.
chris
@trnc: Not a bull. I was so happy to read the word “steer” in the piece.
Chip Daniels
I’m always nervous around a bull with such massive horns as that.
They have a habit of whipping their head around if they don’t like something, and their strength is such they can do serious damage to a frail human without even meaning to.
Avalune
Pretty sure that being a celebrity show steer he’s used to behaving well in public and the risk of epic failure was pretty low. Always possible of course, with people and animals, but it was probably calculated.
I get being annoyed by people who push boundaries but it seems like this was more good natured than asshole but what do I know?
raven
Bevo is a celebrity show steer, UGA is a damn good Dawg!
Texas mascot Bevo XV charges at Georgia’s Uga X before Sugar Bowl
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
What a cool steer! Sweet Pearl looks like my Minnie the Meaney’s nice twin.
Barbara
@Avalune: Most likely done for the publicity. He is a handsome animal.
Pogonip
Those horns are something!
Mnemosyne
True fact: dogs and miniature horses are the only recognized service animals.
Yes. Miniature horses.
With that, since I found out about efg and also realized that some other terrible news today had a Balloon-Juice connection (which I added to the bottom of the efg memorial thread, because fuckit why not), I’m turning off the internet for the evening. Good night, jackals!
NotMax
Kind’a sort’a on topic, antler man.
trnc
@Barbara:
Criminy. I hadn’t heard about that. I take it you’re referring to emotional support animals rather than service animals? I have to say, as much as I support trying to make people feel comfortable (especially while flying), I never understood why an untrained or minimally trained animal should be allowed on an airplane. I guess it’s no surprise if there have been a flurry of incidents lately.
Steeplejack
@Amir Khalid:
Thank you!
Betty Cracker
@raven: I saw that live and was seriously concerned for Uga at first. Then I wondered if it was an omen.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
After an appointment at he VA hospital not long ago I watched a lady take 2 miniature horses out of her mini van and walk them into the hospital. They wore signs saying they were service animals. They were horses in every sense of the word except for their size, including mannerisms. A full grown Great Danes is bigger. Sort of amazing seeing them. Funny the things one sees in life if you just look around.
mapaghimagsik
@germy: and, he actually talked to Petco beforehand, because if I had an unusual, but lovely animal
I’d be looking out for them, too. So it’s a cute story, with Petco in on the ‘joke’
trollhattan
@Pogonip:
Some Texas college needs to adopt it so they can call themselves Texas Longerhorns. That would stir up some merde.
Ruckus
@raven:
That steer is not Petco friendly.
Tenar Arha
Those are great photos of Sweet Pearl, Handsome Oliver, & Beautiful Gracie of blessed memory.
Avalune
@NotMax: That could make a some kind of creepy haunted house!
Sab
I also love goats. We rented a small herd last summer for urban yard weeding. They were very efficient (except they won’t eat ivy). Waiting to see if any of the perennials survived. The crocuses and daffodils did.
Met many neighbors for the first time who regarded our yard as a petting zoo.
raven
@Betty Cracker: We couldn’t see it from our shitty $175 seats.
Ruckus
@TaMara (HFG):
Have to say thanks for the pet pictures. I’m not really able right now for another pet and I do miss Bud, the old coot, but the pictures are enough now for my pet fix. Every time I see your dogs I’m reminded of my neighbor when I had Bud, who made coats for small dogs and sold some really nice pet food, Fromm, in her shop next to mine. She had a pug and a great dane. The pug was normal size and the dane was freaking huge.
NotMax
@Avalune
Did chuckle upon hearing the 30′ × 60′ building referred to as a shed. Guesstimating from the video it’s also around 16′ high at the peak.
BruceFromOhio
Such a beautiful creature. Makes me glad I don’t look like Steve.
Dan B
@Major Major Major Major: Well done but the winks about Beto and super….. you know, keratinacious…..
lamh36
Sab
@Ruckus: Who was Bud the old coot? Whatbwas Bud the old coot?
I have had ten dogs of my own in my life (not counting parents’ or ex- husband’s custodial dogs. Only two are left, my step-daughter’s rottmix and my late uncle’s cocker. Desperately want another german shepherd, but I am too old to raise another large strong and strong-willed puppy, and people don’t often give up shepherds for adoption.
Dan B
@Amir Khalid: Yep. I’m going to shave right now because if a resemblance to Steve is the carapult to the rainbiw bridge it’s scaaaaary!
Omnes Omnibus
@Sab:
You need little lambs for that.
Sab
@Omnes Omnibus: Two questions:
1. Is it safe for lambs to eat ivy (since goats won’t)?
2. Who rents out lambs?
chopper
@TaMara (HFG):
he’s got a point. a giant-ass bull is totes cute until he isn’t. and then after all the damage and destruction, the guy is all “i thought it would heighten the contradictions!”
eemom
So what’s the difference between a steer and a bull?
Omnes Omnibus
@Sab: 1. Fuck if I know. 2. Fuck if I know.
chopper
@Barbara:
honestly i don’t think we should wait until someone gets killed to say “you know what maybe that was a bad idea”.
i think the story is cute tho.
chopper
@Chip Daniels:
right. if i were there i’d be all “holy shit that bull is crazy!”. if my kids were with me i’d be all “FUCK THIS WE’RE OUT”.
chopper
@eemom:
steers’s had his balls chopped off.
chris
@eemom: A steer is a bull that’s been, um, neutered. They get pretty lazy and laid back.
ETA: Dammit, “chopper”
dmsilev
Look, it wasn’t like he brought it into a china shop so I’m not seeing any problem here.
Omnes Omnibus
@chopper:
That’s what people said about eating tide pods and look how well that worked out.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: Come on Omnes don’t be modest, you were in a fraternity, you know the answer to question 2.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@chris: Chopper knows about chopping.
Jay
@chopper:
Show steers are a far cry from range animals or even a dairy bull.
They are handled, trained and groomed by an array of staff from the time they are a weaned calf right up to their deaths of natural causes. They are used to improve herd bloodlines and don’t even get to have sex. If they are of a long contact breed like many of the African breeds, or Highland cattle, then they have a history of living gently in close contact, ( often living in the houses) as long as dogs. They are trained to follow many commands and easy handling is a key requirement. Their key value to the owner is the value of their collected sperm for the artificial insemination of cows.
Try doing that to pretty much any other “pet”, say a Maine Coon.
eemom
@chris:
Oh. Thanks.
PJ
TaMara (HFG): @MagdaInBlack: Grand Champion Steer, by Wussy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azxqztGJqiQ@
eemom
@Jay:
But WHY are they not allowed to “improve the bloodlines” the old fashioned way? IIRC retired racehorses at least get that much.
lamh36
Something to study for my trip to London in May!
Idris Elba Teaches You British Slang | Vanity Fair https://youtu.be/8tbs8tFTHpE via @YouTube
chopper
@Jay:
when i’m in a petco how the shit am
i supposed to know the 2000 pound fucker walking in is a well-trained show animal. i mean, we’re not talking about a dog here. if this fucker flips out it’s a shitshow.
again, i think the story is cute, but i see where the commenter is coming from.
chopper
@Omnes Omnibus:
now you get a bull all hopped up on tide pods and bring em in to a pet store, now that’s a goddamned news story.
sralloway
@CaseyL: May it be Highlander,
Jay
@eemom:
There’s a possibility of damage to the bull, some of whom are worth a couple million dollars, and it’s inefficient to fly your bull around globally when a single, refrigerated $15,000 vial can be overnighted.
Oliver and his kin are part of a working ranch. One portion of the ranch raises beef cattle, one part raises Rodeo bulls, and the 3rd part is a “pet zone”.
Oliver was supposed to be a Rodeo bull, but it turned out he liked people and pets too much and likes carrying his friends and strangers around on his back. So he had a pet dog until last year, ( a Jack Russel who passed) a pet pig named Daisy, and a bunch of cats.
Oliver has kids, does the Show circuit, Fair circuits, charity events and petting zoos. For a small donation he’ll take kids and adults for a slow ambling walk.
Jay
@chopper:
Few people would risk the multimillion dollar bull, or the millions in possible liability, to take an animal that even might freak out, on a leash into Petco.
I’m more leery of purse dogs than Canine Corso’s.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@chopper: People would be in far more danger in a store from Cole with a shopping cart than from a show steer. Or from me on a bad day for that matter.
Show steers – and other show stock (that show on lines, as opposed to in harness or under saddle) are trained to be easily managed and many are quite docile. They wash out and go on to different careers if they don’t do docile when told to be.
Omnes Omnibus
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That’s more of a rugby thing.
ola azul
@Jay:
This puts me to mind a the old military saying: amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@eemom: Only the Jockey Club requires live cover; other breed registries have no issue with AI. The day will come when the Jockey Club relents, because a high dollar sire will get injured in the breeding shed and you can’t register a foal with the Jockey Club without live cover, so a stallion that can’t breed is worth 0 USD or any other currency.
Sporthorse breeders all use AI, because it’s safer for the stallion to be collected than to sire offspring “the old fashioned way.” And the warmblood registries, which all started in Europe, register stick conceived with AI. You haven’t seen side eye from a Fed Ex driver until you’ve signed for a package where the signing sheet lists “semen” as the contents.
@Jay:
As you should be. Cane Corsos, like all mastiffs, are pretty placid off duty. So you’re unlikely to get on the business end of one. Purse dogs are dangerous.
Jay
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
Wasn’t there a case recently of a big race winner being put out to stud who turned out to be gay?
Miss Bianca
@Sab: @Omnes Omnibus: Boy, am I glad I’m not the only one who immediately thought of that jape!
Jay
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
Yup. Large dogs need training.
Many purse dogs are just untrained, uncontrolled fashion accessories.
Miss Bianca
@chopper: If you take a quick look-see at the back end of an animal that size and you don’t see a pair of balls as big as basketballs…and come on, they’d be big enough to see even from in front of the animal…then you’re *not seeing a bull*. Sheesh. City slickers.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: It was a slow hanging curve ball. I didn’t have a choice.
CatFacts
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Yep! I knew people years ago who had a horse breeding farm (not Thoroughbreds). Fed-Ex all the way, and lots of pre- and post-shipping testing for motility and tricky language about insurance for a certain level of motility in the sperm sample. It’s big business in some areas, and there’s definitely a system.
That steer looks like he’s enjoying life. Never even batted an eye at those automatic doors! He’s obviously well-trained.
Jay
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
I was coming home from a job, late one night, and stopped to top up the tank on the truck. In the bay next to me was a small Subaru, loaded up with luggage and 3 Canine Corso’s. A youngish woman was doing the Friday Night drive from Vancouver to Edmonton to spend a week with her parents.
I complimented her on her dogs, asked if I could meet them, got to help dewater and rewater them, gave them dried duck breast treats from my pocket stash, and went home with 5lbs extra dog slobber. I was extra interesting to Casey and Digger that night.
eemom
Animal rights, anyone? ?
OTOH, it sounds like these, um, gentlemen, are at least permitted a decent life, unlike most working animals.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@CatFacts: Ironically, one of the chilled containers I signed for was from a TB stallion. My mare was TB as well, but there could be no Jockey Club papers, because AI. I was breeding for the hunter ring, so it didn’t matter, but we all saw the irony.
@Jay: Purse pooches are often not even well socialized, sort of like their carriers.
Miss Bianca
@Jay: Awww, it’s Oliver the Bull! No, wait, it’s Ferdinand the Steer!
Jay
@eemom:
There was a period around here, when adding some Brahmin to your herd, ( for the mass) was a thing. Problem was that Brahmin’s raised in constant contact with humans are docile, cheap Indian bulls “free ranged” go feral pretty quickly.
During breeding season, cows got gored, ( which lead to some dehorning) and calves got trampled. The “product” wound up being more feral as well, which made moving the cattle a lot more difficult and dangerous.
It took a lot of money and time, to restore a certain amount of docility back into the herds.
My “family” herd is locally famous. They have some Highlander and Canadienne in them, so they forage better than other cows, and are docile enough that I can herd them on foot with nothing more than a bucket of alfalfa pellets.
eemom
ok, now wait a minute. Upon reflection, there are unanswered questions here. How exactly do they get a bull to….express himself, into a FedEx shipping receptacle? Cow porn? Who turns the pages?
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@eemom: There are collectors, as well as teaser mares or cows. I’ll spare you the jargon unless you’re really interested. It really is called collecting. And the semen is stored in liquid nitrogen tanks before being put in the chilled fed ex containers.
Jay
@eemom:
There’s two techniques, “milking” and “coitus interrupus”. Both involve a silicon or latex sleeve. One requires a Mar a Lago spa worker, the other a bull docile enough to not take offense.
Jay
@eemom:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ryKkm6oF4g
From Discovery’s Dirty Jobs show.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Jay: Ground collecting with AV is really the safest for the stallion (or bull) but a phantom and AV work for the younger ones without any back issues.
ETA: I’m pretty sure we’ve told eemom more than she ever wanted to know about large animal AI. I’ll wait for her to ask for details about embryo transfers.
eemom
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: @Jay:
Interesting. Thanks.
Should have recalled the wisdom of my people, i.e., never ask a question you don’t know the answer to. ???
eemom
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
oh ok, goddamn it, I’ll admit I AM still curious. What’s with this “teaser” “interruptus” thing?? Don’t the animals get a little perturbed?
Jay
@eemom:
The Dirty Jobs clip shows how it works.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@eemom: I haven’t watched the video. But I have been at collections, which did not involve “interruptus” but did include a teaser mare (in heat) and a phantom (think blow up horse made of leather) and what Jay politely calls a latex or silicone sleeve but breeders call an AV. The letters make it obvious.
Also, as you know, outside of a testimonial setting, we have to ask lots of questions we don’t know the answers to. That’s how we get the answers we already know when we ask in court…
ETA: the experienced sires get to the point they perform almost at a cue, which went need to be a teaser. It’s their job, and they are rewarded and fussed over it.
chopper
@Miss Bianca:
of course when this giant bull is taking up the entrance and entryway that’s a bit hard to do innit?
chopper
@Jay:
you sound like you’ve never been to florida.
brantl
@TaMara (HFG): All that needed to happen was for some animal to spook that steer, and havoc would have ensued. That was stupid, bringing that animal into a pet store.