SCIO, Ore. — He gave her a home, and now she roams with pigs and goats playing by her side all day.
Helen, a 14-year-old blind American bison who needed new digs in August after her former one-and-only owner could no longer care for her, is adjusting to a verdant new pasture in Scio since one community member read about her plight and offered her shelter. Dozens of others also responded to the story, published first in the Statesman Journal.
And last Saturday, under the watchful eye and care of Wayne Geiger, the executive director of the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary who worked feverishly to ease Helen’s transition, the public got its first chance to see the blind bison (do not call her a buffalo) up close.
Gusting wind and rain didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm for the ungulate. Geiger said more than 200 people in boots, ponchos and rain jackets braved stormy weather to see for themselves the gentle giant who now feeds peacefully on the sanctuary’s property along with other rescued animals including ducks, pigs, donkeys, stallions, dogs, and llamas.
Perhaps more important, the guests brought highly sought-after gifts: namely apples, which are pretty much Helen’s favorite treat. The crowd, also respectful of her vegan preferences brought carrots as well. One sanctuary supporter even made her a “cake” of squash, oatmeal and apples. Helen wasted no time tucking into it, to the delight of the crowd.
Some of the day’s visitors had the opportunity to pet the bovine subfamily member over her fence, and the bison handled the attention well.
“She was marvelous,” Geiger said. “Really remarkable. The weather didn’t bother her or anyone else.”
Some visitors shared stories about growing up in northeast Salem and watching Helen grazing at her former home on Sunnyview Road NE as they passed by her field of Queen Anne’s lace.
Others talked about not knowing she was there until they read about the story, and wanted to share in her newfound celebrity. Her original owner, Lisa Miller, adopted the animal when it was just 4 days old and scheduled to be euthanized because of its blindness.
It was the only home Helen had ever known, and Miller feared, after injuries sustained in an automobile accident prevented her from giving the bison the care it needed, that the bison would have to be put down.
“The crowd really loved seeing her,” Geiger said. “And we had several people fill out volunteer applications and even adoption paperwork. So it was a really nice day all around.”
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