Emily the cow was on her way to a slaughterhouse in Hopkinton, Massachusetts in November 1995, when she evidently decided she would rather be free. The three-year-old, 1,600-pound Holstein heifer bravely leaped over a five-foot fence. For 40 days and 40 nights following her daring escape, she managed to live in the woods around the town, foraging for food and hobnobbing with a herd of deer.

As the escaped cow cleverly evaded capture, people began rooting for her. Emily's partisans left out hay for her and shielded her whereabouts from authorities and from the slaughterhouse's employees. "Like some bovine pimpernel," reported People magazine, "she was sought everywhere but never captured."

Emily's story excited the interest of animal lovers and vegans Meg and Lewis Randa, who have given many animals sanctuary at The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts. The A. Arena & Sons slaughterhouse ended up selling Emily to the Randas for $1, reasoning that the cow had run off much of her value.

Meg Randa, who took great care to assure Emily that she and her family were vegetarians, coaxed the elusive heifer into a trailer with a bucket of feed. The Randas had their Christmas dinner outside in the barn with Emily, who now lives, and serves as a teacher, at The Life Experience School.

This cow-rageous Holstein has become quite famous, as her story has appeared in countless newspaper and magazine articles, as well as coverage by CBS and a forthcoming children's book by Meg Randa. There are rumors of a film being planned, but Emily is keeping quiet about whether she is destined to become a ruminant movie star.

Emily has become something of a cult figure, as sympathizers have pledged in her presence to stop eating meat. She has also been bovine-of-honor at several human weddings that took place in the Abbey barn.