Finnish police officer has 70 pets from cows and pigs to reindeer: “Everyone gets to live a good life in their own way”
On Joni Aaltonen’s farm, the cows, goats, and reindeer are all pets and part of the family. For Joni, who works as a criminal investigator, caring for them is the best way to get away from work.
Giiirls! Joni Aaltonen shouts, and 20 long-haired, thousand-kilo cattle come running from behind the woods to the fence.
“When a herd of Highland cattle runs toward you, many people get frightened, wondering if they’ll break through the fence,” Joni says.
They don’t. They’re just coming to greet their owner.
Bulls graze behind the neighboring fence, and sheep roam on the other side. The pigs, goats, cats, and dogs wander freely. The reindeer have their own pen behind the house. Altogether, there are 70 animals.
Because Joni lives alone, they’re all family to him. He has given each animal born on the farm—or any that arrived without a name—their own name. Joni also recognizes every animal from a distance.
“Even though these are production animals, they’re pets to me. I don’t raise them for slaughter—they each live life in their own way. When I sell calves or lambs elsewhere, I make sure they’re never used for meat.”
Joni also knows each animal’s personality. Iiris the cow loves scratches, young Roosa wants to inspect people’s belongings, and Ville the bull happily hangs out with Joni by the campfire.
Lipponen the pig is a funny rascal who grumbles back like a teenage boy and doesn’t really listen if you tell him no.
“Miss Lyyli the pig is more sensitive—like a princess who has days when nothing feels right,” Joni says.
Police officer Joni’s home
Residents: Criminal investigator Joni Aaltonen, 38. In addition, 41 cows, seven reindeer, six goats, six sheep, four cats, four dogs, and two mini pigs.
Home: A detached house with 4 rooms plus a kitchen in Iitti. Joni also has a 3-room-plus-kitchen apartment in Helsinki.
Square meters: In Iitti 100 m², in Helsinki 75 m².
Dream of owning a farm
Before moving to the farm, Joni had lived his entire life in Helsinki. Both of his parents are also from the Finnish capital.
During childhood summers, Joni spent time at a family friend’s farm, where he got to help with farm chores and learned to feed chickens and milk goats. That’s when he began dreaming of having a farm of his own.
“I’ve always enjoyed being around animals, but when I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to have a pet. Maybe that’s why I have so many now,” Joni laughs.
Eight years ago, Joni heard about a farm whose owners were stopping operations. There were no animals on the farm at the time, but he had the chance to become a farmer. The idea felt right.
“I thought something needed to be done so the place wouldn’t get completely overgrown and the buildings wouldn’t rot. I wanted to keep my day job in Helsinki. I got a couple of chickens to motivate me to stay here. A bit later, I got geese and peacocks. I wanted to see how they live.”
“Toope the bull thinks I’m his mother”
The idea of getting a bull came to Joni while he was resting in a hammock during summer vacation three years ago. He decided right then: I’m getting a bull! He called a local farmer to make a deal.
A 10-day-old bull calf named Toope arrived two days later. He came from a dairy farm where calves are separated from their mothers right after birth.
Joni fed Toope with a baby bottle and walked him on a leash along the village road.
“Cars slowed down, trying to figure out what they were seeing,” he recalls.
Toope became Joni’s “pampered baby,” one of the animals he’s especially close to. Toope comes when Joni calls him. Sometimes Joni lets Toope roam freely in the yard to keep him company, or he lies down next to Toope in the pasture.
“Toope fully trusts me and thinks I’m his mother. He’d never do me any harm.”
After a few years of raising poultry, Joni felt he wanted some other animals on the farm. He sold his birds to other farms and hobbyists, because in the end there wasn’t enough warm indoor space.
“They were a huge amount of work for just a few eggs,” Joni says.
Sheep and reindeer arrived first.
A neighbor who ran a domestic animal farm was heading up to Levi to pick up reindeer and asked if Joni wanted some too.
“I immediately said yes! Only then did I think: Where will I keep them? How do I take care of them?”
There were two weeks before the reindeer arrived. Joni built a pen and read care instructions on the internet.
“It’s not rocket science, but you can’t just rely on hunches. With reindeer, the main thing is to never keep them in a pasture where they’d eat fresh grass, get too much protein, end up with diarrhea, and die,” Joni explains.
Before Toope the bull, Joni had already taken in nine Highland cows.
“When new animals are on their way, I always have a brief moment of hesitation. It’s actually a good feeling: it shows that even if I make decisions quickly, I’m serious about them and take responsibility for the animals.”
Carrying that responsibility means Joni thoroughly learns how to care for each species, doing tasks like shearing sheep, tagging the cows’ ears, and looking after their hooves himself.
Taking care of animals is the best way to reset
In the spring, an orange-furred cow was born, and Joni named it after Donald Trump and calls it Donald.
“I definitely don’t admire Trump, but there’s something American about how I think. Finns often explain why they can’t do something, but I figure I can and I will.”
Joni’s job as a criminal investigator for the National Bureau of Investigation involves travel, and sometimes he works into the evening. That’s when he calls on an animal caretaker.
“Balancing work and the farm sounds trickier than it is. The required tasks take half an hour to an hour a day.”
“Sometimes I’m stuck pondering people’s fates that I see at work. But when I brush a cow’s coat, it all disappears.”
In the mornings before work, Joni feeds the cats, dogs, and pigs, and checks that all the other animals are fine. In the summer, the sheep and cows graze in the pasture; in winter, he takes them a bale of hay that lasts for several days.
Even though there isn’t much that absolutely has to be done, Joni spends a lot of time with his animals.
After work, he often goes straight outside to give them a scratch. It balances a job where he witnesses plenty of hardship: crime, death, and people in dire straits.
“Sometimes the situations I see at work stick with me. Taking a death notification can keep weighing on my mind. But when I brush a cow’s coat, everything else fades away. This is my way of clearing my head and the main reason I keep the farm going.”
Letting go always hurts
One of the cows on the farm, Yaffa, came down with mastitis last summer. Joni tried to treat her, but the infection didn’t clear. He arranged a slaughter truck and asked his brother to see Yaffa off.
“It’s always equally sad to let go of an animal. I don’t want to be there to watch a family member be taken away in a slaughter truck. But I always keep the meat for myself, so the animal doesn’t die for nothing,” Joni says.
“It feels awful when you know how smart and sensitive cows are, and somewhere their only job is to live a short life in a metal hall before being killed and eaten.”
From one cow, you can get about 150 kilos of meat, which Joni picks up from the meat cutter. Some he gives or sells to people he knows, some he keeps for himself.
“I rarely buy meat from the store. It feels really bad knowing how intelligent and sensitive cows are, and that in some places their only fate is a short life in a metal barn before being slaughtered and eaten. My animals get to live a good, long life,” Joni says, adding that he doesn’t want to criticize those who raise livestock for meat.
If Joni gets his wish, a bison will be the next to arrive. It would share a pasture with the Highland cattle.
“Bison fascinate me psychologically. You can’t move a thousand-kilo animal by force; you have to earn its trust. Then it’ll move gently with guidance and positive feedback. I can brush it as a reward, for example.”
“The yard work never ends—I like everything to be in great shape”
Where do you eat at home?
In the summer, almost always outside: on the terrace grilling or by the campfire. Indoors, I eat at the table, or sometimes in the evening I eat in the living room watching TV.
Which spot at home is always left uncleaned?
Probably just behind the fridge. I have a cleaner who comes once a week to both apartments and makes sure everything gets cleaned, plus I have a robot vacuum. I hate chaos.
What do you eat when there’s nothing in the fridge?
If I’m in Helsinki, I use food delivery services, and in Iitti, I always have something in the freezer. If I didn’t, I’d head to the nearest gas station for a bite or grab something from the store.
Do you keep an emergency food supply?
Yes. I have three freezers, and sometimes I have as much as a hundred kilos of beef in them. In summer, I go crayfishing and fishing, and I grow potatoes, tomatoes, squash, and asparagus in my garden.
Which household item would you never give up?
My fridge. It doesn’t have sentimental value, but I can’t manage without it. I could do without most other appliances. I can live without a TV, and I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t need a coffee maker.
Who do you call if there’s an emergency?
Depends on the emergency. My dog, my brother, or my neighbor. My brother sometimes helps with farm chores, and if a cow escapes, I get my neighbor’s help. Large dogs make me feel safer.
What’s going on at home around 7–8 p.m.?
Usually nothing. I’m outside with the animals or tinkering with something in the yard. In summer, I might go trolling after work.
What’s your home’s never-ending project?
Taking care of the yard. It never ends. There’s mowing the lawn, making new pastures, or something else. I have 15 hectares to look after.
What’s still broken at home?
Nothing. I can’t stand it if something’s out of order. If it’s broken, I take it to be fixed or replaced. I like everything in tip-top shape.
What’s your next purchase for your home?
I’d like a ticking wall clock, the kind grandma had with a really loud sound. Some people find them annoying, but I think it would be calming sometimes just to lie down and listen to the ticking.
