BIZARRE ATTACK ON STEER GALVANIZES COMMUNITY.

Byline: Associated Press 

The 4-H farm here is normally a serene place, but that idyllic image was shattered when someone broke into a barn, stole some tools and stabbed an 800-pound pet steer that a young member of the club was raising.

"When I found out, I was at a (4-H) leadership conference and I started crying. I didn't know if he was dead," said Laura White, who visited the farm twice daily to feed and clean Monroe before the attack.

"Then I got mad that someone would come in and steal and hurt an animal. He was in his stall. They were so gutless to beat up an animal when he couldn't defend himself or run away."

In the three weeks since the Jan. 28 attack, the high school junior has nursed Monroe back to nearly full health. But the wounds she and the community feel - along with Monroe's scars - will take longer to heal.

Outraged community members have offered a $2,750 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Others to step up with offers of rewards include the San Bruno government, the San Bruno Lions and Lionesses, the San Mateo County Farm Bureau and Artichoke Joe's Enterprises.

A police officer discovered the crime when he noticed an open gate. Monroe - who is still only half-grown but stands so tall that he nearly looks White in the eye - was lying in his stall with three serious puncture wounds, possibly from a screwdriver.

He was stabbed under an ear, on a shoulder and near his right eye, a blow that punctured his sinus as well as hurt his vision.

White still plans to show Monroe at the San Mateo County Fair this summer, then have him auctioned off, a difficult but normal rite of passage.

"It's especially hard when you care for him," White said. "He really does have cow eyes."