Boy shows steers from his wheelchair. Family calls him the ‘cow whisperer’

Every year hundreds of students in the central San Joaquin Valley spend hundreds of hours raising livestock animals for show and sale. For many, it’s a labor of love that teaches farm kids and non-farm kids alike how to care for animals, responsibility and character building. Plus it puts a little money in their pockets.

Those are all lessons that one farm kid in Iowa is learning but in a very different way. You see, Alec Gotto, an 11-year-old, bright-eyed boy from Dyersville, contracted a neurological disorder when he was 8 months old. The illness left him paralyzed, requiring the use of a specialized wheelchair to get around.

But Gotto did not let that stop him from his passion of raising livestock animals. At the recent Iowa State Fair, Gotto wowed the crowd, and even brought some to tears when he entered into the arena presenting his 1,400-pound steer, J.D. Gotto’s dad rigged a metal bar to his chair and attached it to J.D.’s halter with a couple of zip ties.

His parents refer to him as the cow whisperer.

Gotto moves his wheelchair using sensors that he activates by turning his head, according to the Des Moines Register. And remarkably, the massive animal responds to every cue given to him by Gotto as he slowly rumbles along next to him inside the arena.

“The arena erupted in cheers and applause as the audience lavished the pair with a standing ovation that would carry them to victory for the People’s Choice Award,” wrote Kyle Munson, a columnist for the Register.

For his effort and skill, Gotto received $11,000 for J.D., who was renamed “Thanks a Million.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Boy shows steers from his wheelchair. Family calls him the ‘cow whisperer’."