Dear Friends of Gabe,

Sad news. Sunday afternoon while doing chores, I noticed that Gabe was so stiff he couldn’t get up from where he was lying in the pasture. Meg and I covered him with Emily’s blanket and gave him water and hay and called Cindy, his vet, who drove down from Bolton, MA to see him. She examined Gabe and felt that due to advanced arthritis in his knees, aggravated by his enormous size, weight and age, his legs could no longer carry him. He was unable to stand. His 16 years of being a friend and ambassador to those who visited the Abbey was coming to an end … so she assisted him in his transition

Tears flowed as Meg and I held him and thanked him for being such a wonderful friend to us all. Best that his physical condition worsened with us rather than at Maple Farm where the same outcome would have resulted. How wonderful that a veal calf that would have been killed for food in 16 weeks would live happily for 16 years at the Peace Abbey and would befriend Emily, a pony named Lilly, 11 pigs and a flock of pigeons who shared his barn, the students and staff at the Life Experience School … and come to touch the lives of countless visitors, some who swore off eating meat because of him. Gabe was buried on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on the property.

A special thanks to those who loved Gabe and showed it by rolling up their sleeves since 1996 to help repair the fence, muck the stalls, put down fresh bedding, shovel the mud, toss down the hay, empty and clean the water trough, made contributions toward his care and much, much more. There was so much work to be done … day in and day out … and Gabe and the rest of the animals appreciated our love. He will always live in our hearts. Guess he didn’t want to leave the Peace Abbey, either.

In Gabe’s memory, educate people to boycott veal and dairy. Through your efforts, he lives on! Thanks.

Lewis and Meg