Pedigree chums: farmer says orphaned calf Silvio thinks it’s a dog

An orphaned calf named Silvio appears to think it is a dog, the farmer who is hand-rearing the animal said.

Three-week old Silvio, who is sharing a kennel with Welsh border collie Taffy, has a GPS collar and likes going for walks with farmer Ben Bowerman and his family.

The Simmental and Aberdeen Angus cross was born on April 17 but its mother had to be put down 24 hours later after inflammation meant that she lost the use of her legs.

Mr Bowerman took pity on the young cow and let it stay in the farmhouse, but when wife Catherine returned from a trip visiting their daughter she was not so keen and Silvio moved into the kennel by the back door.

The Bowermans try to get Silvio to spend its days out in the field at the 450-acre Godlingston Manor Farm, near Swanage, Dorset, with the other cows, but when they check on the calves in the evening, it always runs back with them to the house.

Mr Bowerman, 58, said: “We left him out with the rest of the herd and he was braying away looking for his mum. Being a bit of a soppy farmer, I said to Regula, who looks after the cows, to bring him into the house.

“He stays with the herd during the day but when she goes to check on them in the evening he runs back down with her.

“My wife was away so I let him in the house but she’s not so keen on that so now he’s sleeping in the kennel with the dog just outside the back door.

“He gets hand-fed powdered milk two or three times a day, it is quite labour intensive, and we are now starting to introduce him onto some solids, it’s a calf feed that looks like muesli.

“He’s got a GPS collar like one of the dogs so I know exactly where he is at any moment so I might let him have free rein around the garden with the dog.

“Taffy is a really friendly dog and very gentle with the animals. I think his nose was put out of joint for a little bit but I don’t think he minds sharing the kennel now.”