Watch Highland Cows' Warm Welcome to Owner After Weeks Away: 'Overjoyed'

Through the communicative magic of social media, many people have begun to see farm animals as more than just sources of food, but as pets and family members.

One of the hardest things about owning pets is having to leave them from time to time, so when Chloe Grayling, 29, from South Australia returned from three weeks away from her pet Highland cows, she was thrilled with the way they welcomed her home.

"We'd just got home from a trip oversees, travelling for three weeks with my grandparents through Italy and Ireland," Grayling told Newsweek, "and I went to surprise the moo brothers, Jake and Elwood our Highland cows, with our return.

"I wasn't sure how they would react," she added. "There was a chance they would be miffed that we'd been away and I was worried they might have forgotten me[...]but they were overjoyed to be together once more."

In a video posted to Grayling's Instagram, @lovechloejane, Chloe can be seen standing in a beautiful field, calling to her cows, as they immediately come running towards her for scratches and kisses.

Grayling and her husband moved onto their acreage in South Australia in 2020, following a global trend of people moving from urban to rural areas in light of the stifling COVID-19 lockdowns.

More than 1.2 million people left America's large urban counties between July 2020 and July 2021, according to a report published earlier this year by the Economic Innovation Group. Another 860,000 people left the cities between July 2021 and 2022.

Grayling and her husband naturally fell in to farming by initially taking on animals such as Highland cows as pets to live out their lives on their land. Their farm is currently home to two Highland cows, two Nigerian dwarf goats, one kelpie and one kelpie and blue heeler mix. She hopes to add chickens and ducks to the mix in coming months.

"We moved onto acreage in 2020 and my husband Patrick started sending me videos of fluffy cows soon afterwards," said Grayling, "I thought the idea was a bit mad (what on earth do you do with a cow?!), but our paths crossed with somebody local looking to find a home for two baby steer and the next thing you know they were a part of the family."

Grayling's cottage is sited on Kaurna Land, the traditional lands of the Kaurna people made up of Aboriginal tribes who historically cared for the land on the Adelaide Plains. The Kaurna culture and language were almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the British colonization of South Australia, but records kept by early missionaries and other researchers have enabled a modern revival of the culture.

"I grew up on Bunganditj country and was surrounded by Indigenous people who were generous with their time and their knowledge, instilling in me the importance of recognizing a relationship with Country that goes back tens and tens of thousands of years," said Grayling,

"Where we live specifically is believed to have been a thoroughfare from the plains to the ocean, and what is now known as the Fleurieu Peninsula might be the most beautiful place to exist in I can imagine."

Despite the stress of caring for animals and the increasing price of feed and resources, Grayling wouldn't change a thing.

"There is something so comforting about being with the cows," she said, "they are these big, slow, gentle, gorgeous creatures. Hugging a cow is scientifically proven to relieve stress, because their hearts beat at a much lower rate than a human's. They just bring so much light into our lives."

Users on Instagram loved the sweet video.

"How beautiful. Animals are the kindest souls," said one user, "I have to saaaayyyy... I am a liiiiiiittle envious about having a pet cow," commented another.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.