One Woman’s Journey to Save Her Orphaned Herd — And All Farm Animals

Harvey and the Lightning Herd by Helga Tacreiter and PETA

“Harvey and the Lightning Herd” serves as a learning opportunity for readers of every age.

“Hey, hey, babies, I wish I could change the world.”

It’s easy to feel powerless in this day and age. Oftentimes, it feels like the way the world works is simply how it is — even when there’s an established system we wish we could change. This goes double for kids, who don’t have the power or social standing of adults and are expected to simply go along with the way things are.

But the truth is, we can change the world, even just a little bit at a time. And that lesson is no more apparent than in Harvey and the Lightning Herd, written by Helga Tacreiter in partnership with PETA. This inspiring children’s book chronicles how one woman’s pledge to help six calves ends up changing the lives of countless animals in need.

Six Little Survivors

Helga loves most of her work on the farm. She certainly loves working with the cows — feeding them, brushing them, hugging them and even singing to them. But as much as she loves that aspect of her work, there’s another part to it that breaks her heart: when the young calves are taken away from their mothers.

Then there’s a terrible storm at the farm, and many of the herd stand under a tree, not knowing how dangerous that is with lightning flashing. When Helga makes it to the farm the next morning, she finds only six calves still alive. Dubbed the lightning herd, Helga does her best to nurse them all back to health.

One calf in particular, Harvey, is severely hurt in the storm, and as a result, he can’t eat on his own and can only walk in circles. But despite these challenges, Helga gives it her all to try and help him — hand-feeding him fresh grass and guiding him around the farm. In her mind, “she knew she couldn’t change what had already happened to him, but that didn’t stop her from trying to make his life better.” And with hard work, her effort pays off — Harvey soon begins to eat on his own, walk in a straight line and even run!

But the Lightning Herd is soon coming up on a year old: the age where they’re sent away from the farm. Helga knows in her heart she needs to save them, but that means buying them — and a herd of cows costs a lot of money. What is she going to do?

Starting a Conversation of Compassion

While packaged in a kid-friendly manner, Helga and the Lightning Herd doesn’t shy away from the difficult topics of today’s livestock industry. The separation of calves and their mothers after a year is common practice in farming, but that doesn’t make it right.

Harvey and the Lightning Herd serves as a learning opportunity for readers of every age, to prompt a discussion about making the choice to do the right thing. We could all stand to be a little like Helga, who took one look at Harvey and knew that while “she couldn’t change the whole world … maybe she could change his.”

But how, exactly, did Helga manage to raise the funds to save them? Well, you’ll just have to read the story to find out Helga’s clever solution! Rest assured, with the money she raised, not only was Helga able to save the entire herd, but she was even able to buy land and found The Cow Sanctuary.

Today, the sanctuary continues as a home for rescued animals in need to live out their lives in comfort. And all of it is thanks to the hard work of one woman and her love for the Lightning Herd.

Harvey and the Lightning Herd can be purchased at www.shop.peta.org/harvey-and-the-lightning-herd.html. 

For more information about The Cow Sanctuary, or to make a donation in honor of Harvey and the Lightning Herd, check out thecowsanctuary.org.