How Adopting a Coyote Turned a Cityslicker into a Grassfed Cattle Rancher

Nine years ago, writer and photographer Shreve Stockton, stumbled into a role as an internet sensation when she adopted an orphaned baby coyote named Charlie. She started an immensely popular photo blog called the Daily Coyote, which tracked Charlie’s growth as he bonded with Stockton and the other animals in their lives. The blog eventually led to a book deal.  Stockton had landed in Wyoming after taking a solo Vespa ride across the United States in 2006 with the intention of moving from San Francisco to New York. The state cast a spell on her, and upon her arrival in New York, Stockton did a quick turnabout and moved right back to the mountains and prairies. There, she fell in love with a cowboy named Mike (who prefers to go by his first name only), who brought Charlie home one day. Thanks to her book advance, Stockton soon began buying Black Angus calves from Mike, a rancher, in order to save them from the feedlot and rear them herself on grass pastures. Stockton has been building a humanely raised beef business, Star Brand Beef, since 2010. Now she has launched a website to take orders from customers around the nation. Stockton’s animals are harvested once a year and the meat is delivered in August—on a tour that goes from California to Minnesota. “Customers meet the delivery truck at a central location during a 1- to 3-hour window to pick up their beef,” reads the Star Brand site...more