You're Invited to an Udderly Ridiculous Cow Wedding - CNN 5 Good Things - Podcast on CNN Audio

CNN

12 hours ago

Krista Bo
00:00:00
Hey there, if the headlines have been weighing you down lately, I've got five stories to help lift you up.
Cheryl Haskett
00:00:06
We were like, we have no idea how this is gonna go. This could be absolute chaos or it could be the most magical thing ever.
Krista Bo
00:00:14
'You are cordially invited to relive the world's first cow wedding. We'll also share why a high school graduate can now afford to go to college. Plus, some feel-good shout-outs to all the fathers out there. From CNN, I'm Krista Bo, and this is 5 Good Things.
Krista Bo
00:00:34
'An Indiana-based dentist isn't just filling in cavities. He's also filled in a spot at the U.S. Open Golf Tournament this week. Matt Vogt has played alongside some of the biggest names in golf at a course that's just half an hour away from where he grew up, the Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Matt Vogt
00:00:52
It would be an incredible accomplishment or an incredible thing to be doing if it were anywhere in the country. But for us to be back here at Oakmont. It's just a place that means so much to me. I'm incredibly grateful.
Krista Bo
00:01:01
'The 34-year-old self-proclaimed math and science geek has been golfing since high school, but he stopped taking the sport seriously after he quit his college golf team.
Matt Vogt
00:01:11
'It's very special. I hope to represent a lot of different groups of people this week, you know, Pittsburgh, Oakmont, the dentists of the world, make my patients proud, amateurs, mid-amateur golfers, so it's surreal.
Krista Bo
00:01:23
'He's currently ranked 2,120th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, last time we checked. Last Monday, Matt finished eight under par during the Open's grueling 36-hour final qualifying stage, dubbed "Golf's Longest Day," where hundreds of golfers competed for a spot in the third major of the PGA Tour season.
Krista Bo
00:01:43
The Oakmont course is notoriously hard, and it has a special place in his heart because he used to caddy there for six years as a kid. He did get knocked out of the tournament yesterday, but just being there is a win in and of itself, if you ask me.
Matt Vogt
00:01:56
I hope to inspire others to let them know that it's never too late, or there's no reason you can't pursue your dreams at any point in your life. Other people might think it's foolish or a waste of your time. If you want to do something and it's important to you, you can do it.
Krista Bo
00:02:13
'Talk about a pasture-perfect romance. At a small farm in rural Ontario, Canada, two Scottish Highland cows named Muriel and Rhett tied the knot in what the farm's billing as the world's first cow wedding. They said, 'I'm Moo' at Udderly Ridiculous Farm Life, a quirky award-winning agritourism spot known for goat yoga, alpaca picnics, and now cow weddings. The name says it all.
Cheryl Haskett
00:02:39
And the clip is off.
Krista Bo
00:02:43
'Cheryl Haskett runs the spot with her husband, Greg, who's a third-generation farmer.
Cheryl Haskett
00:02:50
I am a Chief Everything Officer here, from poop clean up to guest experience, to all things in between. So Muriel was my Mother's Day accidental purchase to myself. And then I realized, you know what, muriel needs a boyfriend and I went on a search for a boyfriend.
Krista Bo
00:03:07
Rhett ended up being the lucky bull. Cheryl says sparks flew immediately.
Cheryl Haskett
00:03:12
Sometimes Muriel would walk past the pasture that he was in and he would just come bounding to the gate and the two of them would stop and they would nuzzle each other. And I'm like, I am a good cow matchmaker. This is my new resume piece.
Krista Bo
00:03:26
So guests started suggesting a wedding, and Cheryl leaned all the way in.
Cheryl Haskett/wedding officiant
00:03:30
Bovenity chapter 4 verse 7, love is patient, love is kind, it does not trample others grass, it does not chew cud in anger.
Krista Bo
00:03:41
With her flower crown, painted hooves, and white skirt, Muriel walked down the aisle after her flower family of goats to meet the love of her life, dressed in a kilt at the gate.
Cheryl Haskett/wedding officiant
00:03:52
By the powers vested in me, by the holy order of the sacred romance, I now pronounce the two of you cow and bull. You may lick noses.
Krista Bo
00:04:03
'The cow-ple had their first dance and went straight to the honeymoon suite, while the guests enjoyed an alpaca social hour.
Cheryl Haskett
00:04:10
We're hoping in, you know, nine and a half, ten and a half months that maybe we'll have a baby shower. That would be our best hope to continue this little love story along.
Krista Bo
00:04:20
This wedding was udderly ridiculous, and Cheryl says that's exactly the point.
Cheryl Haskett
00:04:26
We were like, we have no idea how this is gonna go. This could be absolute chaos or it could be the most magical thing ever. And it came to be just a moment of joy and laughter. And you could see that on our guest faces and that's what we aim to do.
Krista Bo
00:04:46
'A rescue dog made it home safely after her 100-plus-mile journey by land and sea. Okay, so back in April, Amber, a five-year-old retriever cross mix from Qatar, escaped from her foster home in the UK the day after she arrived. Everything you're about to hear is according to Sam Collins. He's the co-founder of a UK-based animal rescue that helped find a home for her.
Krista Bo
00:05:09
'So when Amber bolted, she first had to clear the home's eight-foot fence. But trust me, that's not the crazy part of the story. For weeks, she was spotted around the area, but after a month went by, reliable sightings stopped. She was next spotted 30 miles southwest on the coast of England. From there, the adventurous Amber doggy-paddled a full mile through the sea to Brown Sea Island, a wildlife haven where dogs aren't usually welcome.
Krista Bo
00:05:36
She spent three days on the island, where a local left out some food and water for her. But when she tried to swim back to the mainland, she got caught in some strong currents. That's when a passing boat saw her. Instead of panicking, Amber swam up to the boat and held onto the ladder until one of the men jumped in to help push her onto the boat.
Krista Bo
00:05:55
'Thanks to a small scar on her nose and some social media posts about her, the rescue group confirmed it was her. Amber is now safe, healthy, and will stay with her foster family for at least a couple weeks -- on a leash, of course. After her incredible journey, Sam says she'll be placed next in a five-star forever home.
Krista Bo
00:06:14
'After his high school graduation last month, 18-year-old Mykale Baker made a quick stop at the Burger King he works at in Dacula, Georgia, to get some food for his family.
Mykale Baker
00:06:24
So I walked in and it was only three employees here. So, and like, they were busy, drive through was backed up, there were a lot of orders on the screen. So I was just like, I can just help y'all.
Krista Bo
00:06:35
'So he decided to clock in and help out. Maria Mendoza was one of the customers in the drive-thru. Her daughter goes to the same school as Mykale, but they didn't know each other.
Maria Mendoza
00:06:44
When I saw him, it's like my eyes locked into Mykale, and my whole world froze for a minute. And it was just like me and him just there. And that was, I was so impressed.
Krista Bo
00:06:56
She posted a video of him working at the fast food restaurant wearing his graduation medals and asked TikTok to do their thing. The next day, it had over a million views. That's when her daughter suggested she should make a GoFundMe for Mykale. Maria met up with Mykale and his mother at the same Burger King and told him the news.
Maria Mendoza/TikTok video
00:07:13
So, I did a GoFundMe for you, and so far it has raised over $6,000. Here we go. Over $6000. I told you it was worth it.
Mykale Baker
00:07:27
I'm surprised and I feel very grateful to everybody that supported me, especially to Maria for setting up the GoFundMe and posting the TikTok because it had changed my life dramatically.
Maria Mendoza
00:07:39
Aw, you're welcome. You're gonna make me cry.
Krista Bo
00:07:43
Mykale said he was planning to take a gap year or join the military to save up for college, but the GoFundMe has since raised over $230,000.
Mykale Baker
00:07:52
Now I get to go to college, now I don't have to take the gap year. And then potentially open up my own mechanic shop.
Krista Bo
00:07:59
Mykale clocked in to lend a hand and clocked out with a brighter future.
Grace
00:08:05
My dad's one of the funniest people I know, but he also gives really good advice when you least expect it.
LaMont
00:08:12
I can honestly say that being a dad is amazing, it is one of the best feelings in the world.
Krista Bo
00:08:19
Tomorrow's Father's Day, so we asked you to share what you love about your dad and what you loved about being a dad. Get your tissues ready. The love fest is after the break.
Kat
00:08:31
My name is Kat Cox, I live in Austin, Texas, and I wanted to tell you something good about my father, Butch. One of my favorite things he ever taught me was when somebody asks, how's it going, he says, better every minute. You know, he has a positive outlook on life.
Krista Bo
00:08:47
We asked you to share what your favorite dad advice was, and boy, did you deliver. I'll go first. So my dad, Kevin, would always remind me to stop worrying over things that I can't change. It's great advice. I can say I always follow it, but I should. So thanks, dad.
Grace
00:09:04
When I went away to school, I was having a really hard time. Some days, then he would just send me little messages. But one little message that stuck with me was: take it day by day. You don't have to do the most every day, but each day you get a chance to do the best. And I think that's a really great life lesson that I've taken with me.
Donna
00:09:22
Besides the stunning example of the way my father led his life, the thing I remember about him most is he said that people want to help if you just give them a chance. That's always stuck with me.
Tim
00:09:36
Hi there, this is Tim from Washington, D.C. Every day when I used to get out of the car with my brothers and sisters, he would stop us, look us in the eye, and say, be the leader, not a follower. Short and simple, but it stuck with me all the way through to today. So I wanna thank my dad for that beautiful piece of advice.
Krista Bo
00:09:52
We figured some dads might wanna weigh in on this love vest and share what being a dad means to them.
Justin
00:09:59
'I am a father of an almost two-year-old, and I want to instill kindness, not cruelty, and humbleness, not entitlement.
LaMont
00:10:09
I just try to, you know, instill things like hard work and controlling what you can control. Try your hardest every day and definitely have manners. I think being respectful is something that can really get you far in life.
Brian
00:10:25
No matter what it was going to take and no matter what it was gonna cost, I was gonna give my kid, I didn't even know it was a girl yet, I was going give my kids the best life I could, better than I could ever have expected for my own life.
Alex
00:10:40
'I have two kids, 24-years-old and 18-years-old. I don't really give them a lot of advice. I do try and act out what my dad did for me and that's really kindness and a love of people and acceptance for where they're at.
Josh
00:10:56
There is no greater parental bliss than seeing your child light up with pure elation simply upon seeing their parent's face. Every day brings another opportunity to share new experiences and once again see the world with childlike wonder.
Krista Bo
00:11:17
All right, that's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Two transgender service members share how President Donald Trump's military ban has impacted their lives.
Krista Bo
00:11:28
Five Good Things is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Eryn Mathewson and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Faiz Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dzula is our technical director. And Steve Lichteig is the executive producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Joey Salvia, Haley Thomas, Alex Manaserri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow.
Krista Bo
00:11:55
Special thanks to Samantha Lindell, Patrick Snell, and Wendy Brundige. And thank you especially for listening. If you like the show, please consider giving us a good rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it with a friend. It's the best way to spread the good vibes. Take care. Till next time.