Dime the beef cow defies odds, competes at Boone County Fair

BOONE COUNTY, Ill. (WTVO) — Dime, one of the many beef cows at the Boone County Fair, suffered a traumatic injury in March, leading his owners to believe he was dead.

“I thought he was dead when I walked into the barn,” shared owner Angie Gutierrez.

Both stepmother Angie and stepdaughter Giada Gutierrez were not confident that Dime would make it to this year’s Boone County Fair and let alone survive.

“I was very overwhelmed and scared,” said Giada.

In March, Dime’s front left leg got stuck between two gates, and a turnbuckle stabbed his leg.

“The chances were not high that he would make it; it was going to take a lot of work and effort. When she had said, ‘it’s going to take a couple of months,’ we all were a little nervous on that,” explained Angie.

Not even a few months later, Dime made it to the fair and competed in one of its shows.

“We are super proud of him for being able to recover, there were lots of tears. He’s pretty perfect because he made it this far, and that was what was important,” Angie said. “We knew coming to the fair this year that he wasn’t going to win anything, but to us, he’s definitely a big accomplishment and a winner because we made it to the fair after months of work.”

Dime is still on his road to recovery. The Gutierrezes use honey on his leg because it’s a natural form of healing.

“We’ve all worked really hard for it. And, overall, I’m just extremely happy that he’s here,” Giada said. “I’m sure he is as well. It was really nice to have him here with us.”