This here is a little story about a boy and his cow.

                      Two pals at rest in the Hawkeye State (photo credit: Jeremy Miner)

They may not have won a ribbon at the Iowa State Fair — but Mitchell Miner and his heifer Audri won the internet after a photo of them taking a nap together went viral.

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“She likes to lay down quite a bit,” Miner told The Des Moines Register on Monday. “I don’t really understand the bond with my animal, either. She just enjoys my company.”

Miner, 15, of Williamsburg, Iowa, and Audri entered the Iowa State Fair’s youth dairy cattle show. They prepared for weeks with Miner leading, clipping, walking and bathing Audri nonstop up to the competition. On the day of the show, Miner woke up at 3 a.m. — his third straight early-morning rise — putting the final touches on Audri.

The heifer ended up placing fifth out of seven contestants, but after hard-fought competition, the two took a nap together. Miner’s father, Jeremy, snapped a few photos of the two and posted them on Facebook the next day.

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By early afternoon, the photo had racked up over 15,000 interactions and nearly 800 shares.

“I was asleep. I think she was, too,” Mitchell said to the Register.

Related: The Service Dog That Saved a Boy’s Life

Miner’s mother, Laura, told the newspaper that she believes people are usually won over when they see a bond between a kid and their animal.

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“I think it’s just when you spend that much time with them, they get really comfortable with you,” she said.

Laura Miner added that the family borrows most of these animals for the summer. Audri will be heading back to a dairy farm in Blairstown later this fall — after the family’s final showing in September.

This Fox News piece is used by permission.

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