Missing cow back safe and sound

The beloved cow statue that was rustled from the front garden of a Pakuranga aged-care facility earlier in the year has been returned safe and sound.

A group of children were playing in scrub in Farm Cove last Sunday when they came across the missing fibreglass Friesian which disappeared from the Ambridge Rose retirement villas in mid-January.

Mother of two, Greta Thomas, said her children had taken a break from a nearby fifth birthday party to play in the bush.

“My daughter came out and said ‘there’s a cow in there’ - I just thought that she was making it up.”

Mrs Thomas and her children went back to the party to get help carrying the statue out of the bush.

One of the fathers then carried the near 25kg statue out on his back.

The cow being carried out of the bush area it was found in. Photo: Greta Thomas

The owner of Ambridge Rose Villas, Allan Sargeant, said that to steal the cow the thieves must have lifted it over the front fence.

He said it was likely “just kids being kids”.

Residents were happy the statue was found and were enjoying seeing it back.

The statue is a memorial to the former dairy farming days of the area.

A similar cow statue was stolen from the Howick Historic Village at the end of 2014 but its whereabouts are still unknown.

That statue had been owned by a former Howick resident, June Riley for many years before she donated it to the village a few months before she passed away.

Mrs Riley’s daughter-in-law, Annemarie Riley, said the theft had left her feeling sad and frustrated. “What’s the need for it, it would be so nice to have our one back now too.”

Mr Sargeant said the cow had now been moved to the rear of the property to stop it from being stolen again.