My wife found this excerpt online - it is a very touching story...
From: http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/sep3/emotions.htm
Animals also feel fear and anguish at facing death, and struggle to preserve their existence. The true story of Emily illustrates the anguish that a three-year-old Holstein cow felt when it was about to be slaughtered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
Emily had seen her companions pass through a swinging door in front of her, never to return, and she was next in line to be slaughtered. She had never been in a slaughterhouse before, and there was no way out for her since a five-foot fence confined her in a small area.
Emily was lucky. Just as her turn came up, the men took a lunch break. Emily seized upon the moment and took the opportunity to escape. Somehow, this 1,600-pound cow jumped over the five-foot fence. No one had ever heard of a cow doing this kind of thing before, and she soon became known throughout the rural area west of Boston, where a search party tried to find her. The slaughterhouse workmen scoured the woods and endeavored to entice her back by leaving bales of hay for her, but she would not go near the traps that they set.
Many people reported seeing Emily running through the woods. Some even saw her learning to forage for food with a herd of deer. The newspaper reported updates on recent sightings of Emily, and when Meg Randa read about her, she felt determined to purchase her from the slaughterhouse so that she could live in peace on Randa's land.
The Randas searched the woods and left food for Emily. But although Emily ate the grain, hay, and water that they left for her, she did not reveal herself to them.
After numerous attempts, they finally found her in the woods, looking right at them. She had lost 500 pounds and needed the care of a veterinarian to recover from her 40-day ordeal. Eventually, she was taken to Randa's schoolhouse, where she is being tended by the students.