CARNDUFF — A Carnduff man is recovering in hospital after being seriously injured by a cow while tending to livestock on Sunday.
Carl Lang, a longtime farmer, oilpatch worker and Carnduff Lions Club volunteer, was checking on cattle in a pasture on April 6 when he was unexpectedly attacked by a protective fresh mother cow. His daughter, Victoria Lang, said it happened in an instant.
“It happens in a split second,” she said in an interview. “She jumped over her calf, and that was kind of the end of it.”
Lang suffered multiple serious injuries, including a fractured scapula, dislocated and fractured hip, fractured pelvis, six broken ribs on each side and a fractured transverse process in his T8 vertebra.
“He is very lucky to be alive,” Victoria previously wrote in a GoFundMe campaign. In the interview, she added: “Thank God — I don’t know how — he was conscious after that. I think the adrenaline probably kept him awake until we were able to find him.”
The family had gathered for supper on the farm the evening of the incident.
“After supper, we knew that one of the cows had been calving,” Victoria said. “He walked out, just as per usual. And when he wasn’t back, I thought, that’s a little strange.”
She followed her instincts and called her mother: “I said, I think you need to go and check on dad. Something just doesn’t feel right.”
Lynette Lang was able to find Carl in the pasture within about 30 minutes. He was airlifted to Regina, where he is currently being treated. He is expected to stay in hospital for some time before being transferred closer to home.
The animal involved was not known to be aggressive.
“She just was doing what new mother cows do — they protect their calves — and he just got a little too close,” Victoria said. “You never really know. It might be a cow that you’ve always worked very closely with, and sometimes you get complacent.”
Carl has worked with cattle since childhood, his daughter said.
“He’s done this every day, in and out,” she said. “Our family, growing up, we've always been aware of farm safety and always had that in the back of your mind — especially come calving season. It's just one of those things you hope and pray never happens, but unfortunately, yeah, he met his match.”
Lang’s ribs are expected to take around three months to heal. Doctors also said he wouldn’t be able to bear weight on his leg for about six weeks. And the full recovery process will take much longer.
“He’s looking at about a year and a half until he’s fully recovered,” Victoria said. “His ribs are broken on both sides, and so that will be the thing that will probably cause him the most pain. He has a long road ahead of him with rehabilitation.”
Victoria said the family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.
“Our family has seen it happen for others, and we knew that we would have a lot of support, but the amount of support that we've felt has truly been overwhelming,” she said. “It just is a stark reminder of why living in a small town is a really great thing.”
Neighbours and family have been helping the family with the cattle since the incident.
“We have family and neighbours that have stepped in immensely,” she said.
The Lang family also farms, and Carl also works in the southeast Saskatchewan oilpatch, which he will have to be out of for some time.
Victoria said the family is taking things one day at a time and focusing on Carl’s recovery.
“It’s a miracle that he had no internal injuries, and God was absolutely there watching over him,” she said.
A GoFundMe campaign, titled Carl’s Road to Recovery, was started by Victoria following the incident and has raised $10,875 of its $20,000 goal as of Wednesday morning, with 78 donations. A trust fund has also been established at Affinity Credit Union in Carnduff.
Victoria said the fundraiser came at the suggestion of others: “This fundraiser was requested by the community as a way to show support through this tough time.”
She hopes others will see the story as a powerful reminder about safety.
“It’s a stark reminder of the importance of farm safety and having certain protocols in place — and not to get complacent,” she said. “Because it just takes one small error of judgment for your entire life to change.”
