Fluffy Cows Go Viral

How often do you scroll through Twitter and see pictures of cute, little animals and say "Awww, I WANT ONE!" If you're like me, it's every time you get on. Well for once, you can make that dream a reality. Just look at these #fluffycows. Thousands of people scrolled through their social media and saw these giant teddy bear-like animals, did some research, and found out that they could purchase one in Iowa. Located in Adel, Iowa, Lautner Farms is home to these squeezable animals.

So why are they so fluffy? Two hours. Two hours is why they are so fluffy. In order to get these cows ready for show, they get pampered for more than double the amount it time it takes for me to get ready. They get washed, combed, and dried up to twice a day. Talk about spoiled. These "fluffy cows" get all this special treatment in order to be shown at county fairs. Such an innocent reason to gain so much attention, right?!

The best part about this story is that it wasn't even the farm's intention to go viral on social media. In fact, they didn't even know they were trending. It was a shock to everyone. Some random person found the farm's website with pictures of their fluffy herds. They posted it on Reddit and BOOM, the cows have since gone viral.

Although it wasn't Lautner Farm's intention to get recognized on social media, they are trying their best to use it to their advantage. While it is nice that people now know about them, they are only seeing "fluffy cows," nothing more. The farm is using this knew trend to inform and hold conversations about cattle farming today. Similar to what we say with humans, there is much more to these fuzzy animals than just a pretty face.

Link: https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/Article/Iowas-fluffy-cows-go-viral-on-social-media

Esther the Wonder Pig

I'm sure you have all seen the wave of obsession with miniature pigs recently. I mean, honestly.. what's cuter than a tiny piglet in rain boots? Nothing. For instance, Olive the Pig, from Vermont, is more popular than some celebrities on Instagram. It's such a unique pet and so stinking cute that we can't help but fawn over them.

Well, there is another pig in town that is making headlines for being not so mini. Steve Jenkins, from Ontario, was already a pet owner, of two dogs and two cats, when he was offered a mini pig. It's hard to say "no" to a tiny pig to begin with, but when told the precious piggy isn't being treated well by other animals, it's impossible. And it is for this reason that Mr. Jenkins took in (what he thought was) a miniature pig. It wasn't long after he took in the piglet that Jenkins found out that Esther was far from mini. After a few short months, what began as a 70 pound piglet, turned into 650 pound pig. I'm sure you can only imagine the surprise. Being as unbelievable as it is, Jenkins decided to create a Facebook page to show off the porky pig to his friends and family. To his surprise, she has 2,000 the next day - and her following is continuing to grow.

While most people would have panicked and done away with the monstrous pet, Jenkins decided to keep Esther and turn what could have been a negative, into a definite positive. A definite bacon fan, Jenkins decided to go vegan after having Esther in the house. He decided to create an animal sanctuary. Since Esther was able to get so much attention on Facebook with minimal effort, Jenkins decided to create an Instagram for her as well. Through the use of all these social platforms, he was able to raise $400,000 to build "Happily Ever Esther Animal Sanctuary." What started out as an innocent adoption, turned into a crazy, hectic, wonderful experience for Jenkins and everyone involved.

Link: http://nypost.com/2016/05/28/how-a-mini-pig-became-a-650-pound-social-media-star/