'I just love my cows': 90-year-old Person County veteran fights to save his cows

HURDLE MILLS, N.C. (WTVD) -- A 90-year-old veteran from Person County is desperate for help. He's spent his entire life on his family farm, but as he's gotten older, he's faced challenges to keep his cows fenced in. With neighbor complaints, he's facing the real possibility he could lose his cows and face charges.

"There have been cows on this farm ever since we've been here in 1926. I try my best to take care of them, but I have a lot of fences on the farm that's been put here for a long time," Pleasant said.

Pleasant says taking care of his family farm-and especially his cows-will be something he does until the day he dies.

"I just love my cows and I don't want to lose them," he said.

But losing them could soon be a reality. Person County Animal Control says for about four years they've gotten complaints about Pleasant's cows wandering off of his farmland and onto others.

"My cows have gotten out and I admit that. But I do my best at trying to keep them in," Pleasant said.

Some of the barbed wire is aging on the 98 acres and it will take tens of thousands of dollars and take a lot of time to fix. But Pleasant now has a deadline. Animal Control says he has to show an effort to fix as much fence as possible and contain the cows by Tuesday or he'll face charges and possibly lose his cows.

"His cows are his pets. They are his will to live. His reason to wake up in the morning is to get up and take care of his cows. And without that--he's 90 years old-who knows what's going to happen to him?" said Anna Claire Pleasant, granddaughter.

Anna Claire and other family members will be helping this weekend to fix the fence in a last-ditch effort to save his cows and his lifeline.

"They're my life blood I guess you could say because I credit them for keeping me going," Pleasant said.

The Pleasant family is hoping volunteers will come out to help fix the fence this weekend. The farm is located at 3675 Gordonton Road, Hurdle Mills, NC. A GoFundMe page has also been created to help cover the costs of the fence.