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He was barely out of his mother’s womb when this baby was thrown on the roadside. The terrible thing is, he’s far from the only victim

An atrocious practice

It was a sunny day in Udaipur, India. But one man at the wheel of his car stopped enjoying the lovely day when he saw what was lying on the side of the road: a tiny, wet calf, curled up in the dust.

It hadn’t rained in days and there was no watering place nearby. How could it be so damp? Then, with a start, the man realized: it was a newborn baby. It had been taken away from its mother and just left there to die.

Watch Dil’s story here in this video report. The romp with his best friend at 3:15 will make your day:

It’s unfortunately a common, if barbaric, practice around the world. Farmers in the dairy industry simply get rid of their cows’ male offspring to prevent any loss of milk. Similarly, this calf must have been victim of some nearby dairy farmer’s wish to keep all the mother’s milk to sell.

The driver of the car called volunteers from the organization Animal Aid Unlimited and they arrived on the spot soon afterward. They approached carefully, covered him with a blanket, and brought him to their facility to be cleaned and fed.

When one of the shelter’s workers bottle-fed the poor newborn for the first time, he couldn’t stop drinking. He clearly hadn’t been permitted even a drop of his mother’s milk — the milk that was of course produced and intended for him. Now though, he was coming back to life.

They named the tiny survivor “Dil,” which means “heart” in Hindi, and placed him in a cozy stall with some little friends where he would be able to grow and play, as any calf should.

Within two months, Dil bloomed into a joyful, spirited, and healthy animal, friendly not only with the other animals at the shelter but all the humans too. They’re continually inspired by his zest for life and loving heart. He was named correctly, there’s no doubt!

More than anything else, he loves cuddles…

Cruelty to innocent creatures (animal or human) signals, for many of us, a real lack of humanity.

While some people are clearly missing that empathy for other living beings — like perhaps the farmers who would just dump helpless infant calves on the side of the road to die, Dil’s rescue shows how generous and compassionate other people are.