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Steer comes to Dairy Queen

By ERIN NICHOLES, Chronicle Staff Writer

Ellie Lamberty, 7, was about halfway through a Dairy Queen treat Tuesday when a pickup truck pulling a livestock trailer drove up behind the store.


 She and other children gathered around the trailer -- at a comfortable distance -- to greet a special guest.

"His name is Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart," rancher Skip Hougland said, leading a Scottish Highland steer out of the trailer. "We call him Charlie."

Hougland, who owns Bridger Mountain Scottish Highlands, brought Charlie to town from Willow Creek after reading in the newspaper that people who brought a cow to the Dairy Queen Tuesday would receive a free treat as part of a corporate promotion.

Charlie, 10, was the only animal that made an appearance at any of the area Dairy Queens, and the store manager said she was surprised that even he showed up.

"It seems like a lot of work," said store manager Minde Erickson.

But Charlie, 10, is used to making public appearances. He regularly visits schools and local agricultural functions.

He draws attention because he doesn't look like a run-of-the-mill steer. He has short legs, shaggy red hair and his long horns are nearly the width of the trailer.

"Charlie has a nice, easy-going disposition," Hougland said, explaining why Charlie has escaped the fate that most of his cattle. "We use them primarily for beef."

Scottish Highlands also are known for being docile; Charlie lowered his basketball-size head when Hougland scratched his neck, and carefully ate a handful of feed from his owner's hand.

He slobbered and stuck his tongue up his nose as Lamberty and the other children giggled and asked questions.

"In winter, do they make footprints?" Lamberty asked.

"Is it an ox?" one little boy asked.

When the kids finished marveling at Charlie, Hougland loaded the steer into the trailer and walked up to the Dairy Queen counter to collect his reward.

Erin Nicholes is at enicholes@dailychronicle.com

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