Cow Pretends to Be Asleep to Avoid Going Outside: 'Found My Spirit Animal'

A clever cow has delighted TikTok users after appearing to "fake" being asleep in a now-viral social media post.

The cow, named Doris, can be seen snoozing in her straw-coated base, in what the video's creator labeled as being her attempt to evade an early morning milking.

"POV you don't like early mornings," Laura Brodie wrote across the video.

Brodie told Newsweek that her husband, John, was looking after the cows on that particular morning, and that he had recorded the footage. In the post, John can be heard making light of Doris' antics.

"So this is what a stubborn dairy cow looks like," he says. The farmer then goes on to explain that all the other cows are up and getting ready for milking.

"Doris is actually pretending to be asleep. She isn't really asleep," Brodie jokes.

The farmer then walks up to the snoozing cow and gently asks her to wake up: "Come on, I see your ears moving."

Eventually, Doris lifts up her head and faces the camera. John Brodie told Newsweek that Doris eventually made a move and faced the day, although that wasn't included in the video.

"Doris is one of the cows in the herd at Reads Farm on the Isle of Wight, a small island off the south coast of the U.K. The farm and Doris the cow are owned and run by Mark Reed pictured here with Doris," John Brodie told Newsweek.

"Reads Farm is a family run farm with a dairy herd of around 200. I work for Mark and his family full time on the farm but live in a small village a few miles away," he added.

The farmer went on to tell Newsweek that typically in the mornings whoever is on milking duties will first clean the cows' beds by hand in the cubicle sheds. Brodie shared that when the farm hands do this the cows know that it's time to get themselves up and ready for the day.

"Usually after a snack of their silage in the yard, they will head on towards the milking parlor and wait there. Inevitably, there are a few stragglers, but on this particular occasion, Doris fancied a lay in," Brodie said.

What Do The Comments Say?

Since it was shared to the social media platform on March 15 by the Brodies' joint TikTok account, @LauraBrodie3, the video clip, which can be seen here, has been viewed more than 1.1 million times. Some 71,000 TikTok users have liked the post and over 990 have left comments.

"I think I've found my spirit animal. Leave Doris alone," one user commented under the post.

The video has taken TikTok by such storm that it has even attracted the interest of the U.K.'s BBC Radio 1. The Brodies confirmed this by commenting under the post that they "can't believe that BBC Radio 1 played [the audio of the clip] this morning."

Another user added: "Let's start a petition for Doris to have a lay in. she's a tired puppy".

How Has Farming Changed in the U.K?

By June 2022, the total number of people working on agricultural holdings in England was 301,000.

"Farmers, business partners, directors and spouses account for 60 percent of the total workforce," according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

The nation's decision to leave the European Union, which came into effect more than two years ago, has led to significant changes in the farming and agricultural industries.

Without access to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which works to ensure a stable flow of goods and safeguard the income of farmers within the European Union, many British farms have had to navigate changes to the ways their businesses operate. The U.K's basic payment scheme, which is a set payment for farmers who carry out eligible agricultural activities, is being phased out over the next five years, which eliminates the European subsidies that British farmers would benefit from.

Amid all the changes, the Brodies continue to make the most of the farm where they work and document all their animals' funny antics on their social media profiles.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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