You can cuddle cows while drinking coffee at this Montco animal sanctuary

Dolly is an Aries. She likes pink accessories, the feeling of freshly brushed hair, and morning coffee with friends. She also has to be the center of attention.

No, Dolly is not a teenaged girl. She’s a three month-old Hereford calf with a job: To snuggle up with as many guests as possible at Rose Bridge Farm, a Montgomery County animal sanctuary.

Rose Bridge Farm sits on almost 13 acres of land at 1314 Limekiln Pike in Dresher, once part of an estate owned by William Penn in the mid-1700s. When steward Kristen Sutch took over the property in 2013, she transformed it into a sanctuary for farm animals rescued from livestock auctions, dairy farms, and breeders.

The sanctuary has 50 animals at any given moment, Sutch said, most of them babies that will be eventually adopted out to private farms and other sanctuaries. About a dozen kids — baby goats, that is — clomp around the property, climbing on lopsided trees as if they were a playscape. Freshly rescued lambs doze together in a dimly lit corner of the farmhouse, while kittens play upstairs in a renovated loft.

Rose Bridge has always been open to the public, offering guided animal husbandry tours, birthday parties, and the once-trendy goat yoga to offset the cost of running the rescue. Sutch, however, struck gold with a novel idea: What if people could start their morning like she does, by drinking coffee in the company of baby cows?

The sanctuary started offering the delightful sessions — aptly named Coffee and Cows — in July. Almost immediately, videos of calves and kids staring into the camera began racking up hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, giving Dolly and her companions the attention they demand.

“A lot of these animals are bottle babies, so they really enjoy companionship. They’re like your dog: If you leave, they get sad,” Sutch said. “Having the public come in ... [the cows are] getting as much love, snacks, and cuddles they could hope for.”

During the hourlong, $20 sessions (which run daily at 8, 9, and 10 a.m.), guests start in the barn’s loft with an unlimited self-serve drip and iced coffee bar that includes sugar, nondairy milks, creamers, and cold foam alongside seasonal sprinkles.

Next, one of Rose Bridge’s volunteers will lead the group to the farm’s pasture, where they can brush, cuddle, and bottle-feed Dolly and her friend Teddy, a five-month old mini Highland cow with fringe bangs and a summer buzz cut that’s just starting to grow in.

The sanctuary’s sessions are so popular that Sutch started offering an evening version branded Cows & Cocktails, where guests can sip on alcoholic iced tea and lemonade made with farm-grown mint and lavender alongside Teddy and Dolly. They’re content with booze-free bottles of milk.

The events’ success has helped Sutch begin to check off a laundry list of renovations to the nearly 300-year-old farm, such as an automatic fire system, new barn doors, and eventually, a rehabbed bottle room.

“Everything needs replacing,” Sutch said. “And you should see our vet bills, our feed bills, our hay bills ... It takes a lot to run this farm, so [Coffee & Cows] has really been a blessing.”

It’s easy to feel chosen at Rose Bridge. When I attended Coffee & Cows on a recent crisp morning, it started with a tiny tuxedo kitten trying to climb inside my coconut cream latte. Outside, baby goats nibbled on the hem of my shirt at seemingly every turn. If I stopped petting Dolly under the chin, she’d moo as if she missed me.

Cow cuddling has emerged as a surprising wellness trend, with farms and animal preserves from New Jersey to the Scottish Highlands getting in on the practice. Bovine snuggles are thought to reduce stress and release oxytocin, the hormone associated with social bonding and trust.

“You look at them, especially the fuzzy baby ones, and they just make you feel all warm,” said Sutch.

Rose Bridge caps Coffee & Cows sessions at 15 attendees, with a 10-and-up age minimum. Attendees are encouraged to brush Dolly and Teddy, and to let the calves suck their thumbs, sort of like a baby and their pacifier. For maximum bonding, Sutch recommends squatting down to the cows’ level and “talking to them like a friend.”

Dolly, who was dropped at Rose Bridge in April in the back of an SUV, wasn’t always a diva. Teddy, however, was always a ham.

“He’s a big kisser,” said Sutch, and loves to get his floppy bangs styled.

Rose Bridge also has a new cow in town: Lady A, a 1½-year-old mini Highland cow named after the country band. Since she’s the eldest, Sutch said, Lady A is still adjusting to socializing with the rambunctious Teddy and Dolly. But what she lacks in fans, she makes up for in friends.

“She’s a little feisty,” said Susan Connolly, who drove nearly 50 miles to Rose Bridge from her home in Kendall Park, N.J. “I like that.”

Diane Haggerty and her daughter, Grace, were partial to Dolly. “She speaks her mind and actually lets you pet her,” said Grace, who went to Coffee & Cows for her 12th birthday. “This exceeded all my expectations.”

Admittedly, not everyone was sold.

“I don’t know how at peace I feel,” said Katrina Miciek of Havertown. “I’m too busy making sure the cows and goats don’t eat my shoes.”

Rose Bridge Farm Sanctuary, 1314 Limekiln Pike, Dresher, rosebridgefarmsanctuary.com; Coffee & Cows runs 8:00 to 10 a.m. daily.