In the early days of 2020, Gregory Berns’ canine-based project was shut down, leaving him at home with little to do but surf the internet and wait to see if his work would be resurrected. Idly, he began to look at real estate near his Atlanta home, dreaming of the country life.

The dream became a plan. The plan became a reality in late 2020, when Berns found a farm that reminded him of Tara, plus: the house was palatial and the sale included farm equipment. Best of all, there were multiple fields, empty and waiting for cows.

If there’s one thing a farmer knows, it’s that if you put a bull with a cow, funny things happen: Berns’ first three bovines became four when a tiny calf was born somewhat unexpectedly, and changed Berns’ relationship with the calf’s mother.

Relationship. An odd word to use with cows, right? Because cows are nothing like dogs. A cow’s brain shows its status as prey, as do its eyes, with which the cow scans its surroundings without lifting its head. Intelligence is slippery, but cows can learn their names. They have personalities, quirks, individual preferences, and they absolutely communicate with one another. Cows make friends among herd members. They have capacity for love – and Berns absolutely loved them back.

“There was a thrill about being let into their world,” he says. “An honor, really.”

“When you live in a city,” says author Greg Berns, “it’s easy to be” ignorant of the amount of empty lots and pastures nearby. This book is for those blissfully unaware, and for the residents of those nice spreads of land.

To be sure, “Cowpuppy” is bucolic and gentle, but with a hint of humor and lots of wide-eyed fascination. Berns went into his endeavor with a desire to have animals on his farm, but he couldn’t seem to resist going beyond. That’s great for readers; his eagerness to study the cows and his willingness to accept their personalities and lives.  

And those cows? They’re irresistible, in Bern’s stories about them at play, as mothers and rivals, in their curiosity and affection, in the things they taught him, and as great big pets. 

It’s no bull – city folk will learn a thing or two about farm life in this book, and farmers will get a kick out of tales they’ll know well. For an animal lover, too, “Cowpuppy” is a real treat. 

Why Animals Talk

If you’re an animal lover, of course you speak to your pets... but what do they say in reply? In “Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication” by Arik Kershenbaum (Penguin Press, $30), you’ll see what science has learned about how animals communicate and how it can help you have a better relationship with other creatures. Read this book, and you’ll feel like a regular Dr. Doolittle.