# SAD SAD SAD...



## cheeptrick (Feb 10, 2010)

Our local town and mascot has to be put down...we are looking for a 'companion' retired Simmental Ox so his partner does not have to be put down as well.  Please contact Anika Clark if you are in the New England area and have knowledge of a retired oxen available.  
Swanzey braces for loss of one of towns mascots

Buck of Buck and Ike fame is shown at his home field in Swanzey in December 2009. Buck has been diagnosed with cancer, and his prognosis is not good. 


Buck the ox has cancer, and people worry Ike will be lonely
By Anika Clark 
Sentinel Staff
Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
SWANZEY  The town of Swanzey is getting ready to bid a sad farewell to one of its biggest characters.

Buck  a roughly 3,000-pound Simmental ox and half of the locally famous bovine duo Buck and Ike  has cancer.

Bucks squamous cell carcinoma has left him with polyp-like growths in his eyes  a condition thats persisted despite surgery and will only be irritated by warm-weather flies, according to Swanzey resident Victoria Reck Barlow.

Its pretty likely that were going to have to say goodbye, said Barlow, who calls herself Buck and Ikes personal assistant along with Swanzey resident Jeanne M. Thieme.

Exactly how long Buck has left is unknown. In the meantime, Our priority is Buck and his quality of life, Thieme said. Were kind of hanging in the balance there right now, but were prepared.

Swanzeys love affair with Buck and Ike began in recent years when townspeople banded together to raise money to care for the hulking animals, which Swanzey farmer Mike Johnson had inherited from a friend.

In 2007, during the Bale Out Buck and Ike fundraising campaign, Barlow described Johnsons failed attempt to to sell the animals to a former cowboy actor from the 1970s mini-series Centennial.

These are kind of hobby animals, she said at the time. They dont add value to (Johnsons) operation in any way. I dont think any farmer really can afford to have big animals like that as pets.

Since then, Buck and Ike have become much more than pets to the people of Swanzey.

The town kind of adopted them, Selectman Bruce L. Tatro said.

Buck and Ike have appeared everywhere, from YouTube videos to The Old Homestead play, and will serve as subjects for a new Swanzey town sign. Theyve marched in the Monadnock Humane Societys annual Walk for Animals, Monadnock Regional High Schools homecoming parade and a parade celebrating when part of Johnsons family farm was put under conservation easement last fall.

As ambassadors of open space protection, I think they brought awareness to the town, Thieme said.

They also inspired the ice cream flavor Buck and Ike Delight at the Twinkletown Miniature Golf & Batting Cages in Swanzey and host annual birthday parties, where theyve given local children small plush versions of themselves.

We know of many children who cant go to bed at night unless their Buck or their Ike is tucked in with them, Barlow said.

In a letter to The Sentinel in 2007, Swanzey Town Planner Sara H. Carbonneau explained why such a fuss was being made about two figures who arent rock stars or politicians.

(M)aybe its because amidst of all the silly stuff there is a message that comes through, she wrote. Buck and Ike are solid. Buck and Ike represent hard work and a simpler time and place. They remind us of Swanzeys agricultural and industrial heritage.

Selectman Nancy L. Carlson said she tries to catch a glimpse of the oxen every time she passes the field where they graze.

Its just been a central focus for the community, she said. It didnt matter what age you were, you became a Buck and Ike fan.

But perhaps no one is closer to Buck than Ike.

While Barlows 2-year-old working steers Star and Bright are already in line to yoke up for The Old Homestead play, Barlow said the search is on to find Ike a new partner-in-crime.

What Ike needs is somebody to travel around with, she said.

Whoever this ox is, hell have big shoes to fill.

- Donations in Bucks name for the new Welcome to Swanzey sign can be dropped off at the Swanzey Town Hall.

Anika Clark can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1432, or e-mail aclark@keenesentinel.com.


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## ksalvagno (Feb 10, 2010)

That's too bad. Hopefully you can find a buddy for him. Good luck.


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## cheeptrick (Feb 10, 2010)

Thank you...we are hopeful!!


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