THE BOOK

Journalist and author John-Manuel Andriote teams with artist, musician and dairy farmhand Katie Runde to re-imagine the true story of Wilhelmina, the black Angus cow who decided one hot July day in 2011 to run away from her farm in Orange, Connecticut.

For five months, Wilhelmina hangs out and travels with a herd of deer. Daisy the doe becomes her best friend. They’re seen around Orange, Milford, and West Haven. For some reason, animal control officials believe Wilhelmina is a bull, and refer to her as Waldo. Until, that is, the first of their unsuccessful efforts to capture her.

When the humans appeal to her sweet tooth and finally succeed in tranquilizing the eight-hundred-pound bovine, they move her to an animal sanctuary twenty miles away in Oxford, Connecticut. They expect Wilhelmina will be happy there for the rest of her life.

It turns out that’s the only thing they were right about. Betty, the gentle farmer who adopts Wilhelmina, accepts her because the old Scottish lady shares Wilhelmina’s sense of adventure. As Wilhelmina comes to understand, acceptance and love let us know we’re home at last.

John and Katie discuss Wilhelmina Goes Wandering with Connecticut TV hosts.

Click to watch the official English language video trailer for Wilhelmina Goes Wandering.