You’ve heard of a cat nap. But have you ever heard of a cow nap? No? Wondering what in heck that even is?
Well, when 15-year-old Mitchell Miner and his heifer, Audri, wrapped up a long day at the Iowa State Fair, they totally took a cow nap, snuggling up close to each other and passing out. Luckily for us, someone had the wherewithal to take a candid shot of their joint siesta, and man do they look exhausted as all get-out:
Just a boy and his 🐄https://t.co/OdoqmYBWTa
— Sonny Perdue (@SonnyPerdue) August 15, 2017
Miner’s father posted the photo on Facebook on Aug. 13 (he has since either taken it down or changed the privacy settings on the post) and it quickly went viral, with the Des Moines Register reporting that the photo had been shared almost 800 times when the paper checked a day later. Even the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture tweeted out the photo.
It’s not hard to see why people loved the photo so much. Miner and Audri are clearly BFFs, with Miner leaning on the cow without a care in the world as Audri bends her head almost protectively around the teen. Miner had been up since 3 a.m. that day preparing to show Audri, who placed fifth in the contest, and clearly was in need of some shut-eye. He used the closest thing he had to a sofa.
“I was asleep. I think she was, too,” Miner told the Register. “She likes to lay down quite a bit. I don’t really understand the bond with my animal either. She just enjoys my company.”
Miner and Audri have spent the past two months together preparing for the fair, and Miner’s mother, Laura, said that is probably why the two are so comfortable together.
Sadly, Miner and Audri will soon be going their separate ways, as Audri will be returning to the dairy farm from which she was borrowed in September. But there are a lot of long summer days still on the calendar, and a nap next to your bovine best buddy sounds like a good way to spend them.