Michigan-Shaped Spot May Save Steer

[February 19, 2008]  SPAULDING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- One steer's unique hide may save it from someone's dinner table. The animal is named Michigan, and for a good reason -- the brown spot on its side resembles the state's mitten shape. The pattern on its other side is shaped like a "U."

It's one of 30 cattle on Jacob and Georgia Kessler's family-run farm in Spaulding Township, about 80 miles northwest of Detroit.

Cattle from the farm are eventually sold for beef. But the owners are willing to sell the steer for promotional or mascot use instead of shipping it to the slaughterhouse.

[Associated Press]

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