A cow named Speckles

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When 10-year-old Doug Crandell joined the 4-H program, he was supposed to learn about raising, feeding, and selling a cow. What he wound up learning was something else entirely. “I wanted to be a hog man, like my father,” he said. “But I knew pretty early on that you couldn’t have these animals forever.” From producer Shaina Shealy, this is the story of a boy and his cow, Speckles. Featuring Doug Crandell. Produced by Shaina Shealy. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	From NHPR, this is Outside In, a show where curiosity and the natural world collide.
0:05.7	I'm Nate Hedgy.
0:06.6	Hey, sweeties.
0:07.4	Come here.
0:11.0	Doug Crandall is a farmer.
0:12.6	They're a little excited.
0:14.7	Sort of.
0:15.4	Having visitors.
0:17.8	His farm in Douglasville, Georgia, it's more like a boarding house for rescued animals.
0:22.6	Over the years, he's tended sheep, goats, cattle, raccoons.
0:27.6	Anything that shows up, we're going to take care of.
0:30.6	So we've had 12 rescue dogs, we've had a goose show up.
0:35.6	We had a rooster show up that wasn't ours.
0:41.3	Another reason this isn't a traditional farm is that they don't kill and eat any of these animals.
0:46.3	They care for them until they die naturally, and then they bury them around the property.
0:50.3	So we have several, I guess, pet cemeteries around the property, but that's
0:57.6	nice to visit and, you know, remember and to be quite honest, it's a privilege to be able to provide
1:04.4	homes and safe places for the animals that we just consider part of our family.
1:16.2	As you might expect, there's not a lot of money in rescuing animals like this.
1:21.7	And by profession, Doug is a writer.
1:24.5	But there was a time when he was just 10 years old that Doug aspired to be a more traditional
1:30.7	brand of farmer.
	...

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