Long before those ear-tag things, or RFID chips, cattlemen identified their herd members with a custom iron design, that would be heated over a roaring fire until it was red hot, then firmly shoved onto each cow’s hindquarters.
You would think that the others would hear the plaintive yells of that cow, essentially saying “OW! You son of a bitch! Fucking asshole!!!” and stampede the HELL out of there. Maybe they enclosed the area with a sturdy fence, designed so a bull couldn’t tiptoe behind and tap on the shoulder of the brand-master, or whatever they called that sadistic bastard.
I guess the best case scenario was to belong to the herd at the “Tiny Dot” ranch.
