Passauer Neue Press reported Tuesday that a farmer, Johannes Brandhuber, later appeared among local butchers after feeding oats at his farm in Sinbach AM Inn in southern Germany.
Brandhuber, 32, married two years ago, lost his ring one Sunday morning in November and thought it had disappeared permanently, only four months later when he called from Josef Steinleitner, the butcher of Vilshofen a der Donau, about 50 km away.
Steinleitner revealed that his employees found a ring in the rumen of a cow named Herzal.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s unique,” Steinleitner is a butcher for over 40 years. He said the discovery came because his 135-year-old family operation was still slaughtered by hand.
“It’s a lucky coincidence to find something so small,” he said. He noted that small metal objects (such as screws) can usually enter the rumen, a large compartment in the cattle’s digestive system.
Branduber said he almost gave up hope of finding the ring, and his wife has not found it. “She’s happy,” he said. While noting the loss, he searched the horse stable from top to bottom before going out to buy another ring.
A few months later, the original ring was worn seriously and only the abbreviation could be calculated. The cow’s forehead is named after a heart-shaped white spot.
