This Kind Woman Met a Bull While Hiking and Changed His Life Forever (PHOTOS)

It was a normal day in August 2015 for Gianina Soto, who was out hiking near the small canyon where she lives in the suburbs of San Jose, Costa Rica. That is, until she spotted a group of bulls on a farm along her regular route. Surprised by these gentle beings, she stopped by to say hello.

One of them came toward her and licked her hand. He then lowered his head to have it caressed. “He was sweet and sensitive like a puppy,” she explained to One Green Planet.

Soto immediately fell in love with this sweet giant. However, aware of the fact that this bull would soon end up on someone’s plate, she knew she would have to act fast to save her friend. “Clearly they had been put there just to fatten up,” she said.

The thought that he would soon be slaughtered broke her heart. “I had a couple of tears run down my cheeks with that thought.  To my surprise when I looked up again, tears were running from the bull’s eyes too! It was really something amazing and I felt a deep connection.”

Soto made a promise to do everything she could to save his life. She began a campaign to raise funds and get permission to rescue the bull so she could give him a new life in a sanctuary. With the help of vegan restaurants and products as sponsors, she created a raffle to raise money for the care of the sweet bull, now named Cosmos. By October 2015, she was able to successfully move Cosmos off of the farm and into a sanctuary located in Coronado, Costa Rica with other rescued animals.

It’s clear that Cosmos is a very special bull, and his story is just another testament to the intelligence, and emotional capabilities of all farm animals.

To learn more about Soto’s campaign and learn how you can help, visit Veganismo en Acción on Facebook.

All image source: Gianina Soto