There was a lot of "cow-motion" on a major New Jersey highway early Thursday.
Some drivers were surprised to see a cow strolling along Interstate 80 in Paterson around 2:30 a.m.
It took about an hour to corral the bovine with the help of two tow trucks. A 911 call captured the chaos.
"There is a big animal ... a big animal," the caller begins.
"An animal?" the dispatcher asked. "Like a reindeer? I'm sorry ... the deer?"
The caller mutters a bit, trying to find the words. Then the dispatcher helps out.
"A cow?"
"A cow ... big!" the caller says. "Yeah ... a cow ... big."
Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue said the cow somehow jumped out of a second floor of a transport truck. State troopers and Paterson police swarmed the scene, including trooper Andre Almeida and his partner.
"Me and Kowalski held onto the cow as hard as we could but it was strong for the two of us," said Almedia.
"We had to get the cow off the interstate because if somebody hits it, that could've been worse than an accident. It could have been a fatality," he said.
Wrestling and lassoing failing, the cow was finally subdued and held with a tow truck strap, to be escorted to a waiting Skylands sanctuary trailer. The group took the female bovine to a vet and says she had no broken bones, just a few cuts and scrapes.
"She will live the rest of her life in peace and harmony, and not be a steak," said Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale.
She's resting now, the sanctuary says. And her new name is Briana.
