An Alberta farmer and his veterinarian credited the Canadian government's $225 payment as an incentive that encouraged him to submit brain samples for testing after his 8-year-old dairy cow, Boss, was put down. Tests confirmed that the cow was the third case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy discovered in the Canadian herd.

Allan Degner, a Barrhead, Alberta, farmer, was one of hundreds of farmers who have submitted samples from impaired or downer cattle since the reward structure went into effect last fall, said George Long, the veterinarian.

Degner, who said the cow was virtually a family pet, bought the cow in 1999 to provide milk for calves from his small herd of beef cattle. The farm where Boss was born, in southern Alberta, is under quarantine, Degner said, while officials investigate. Degner said that Boss was fed only grain while he owned her.

"I just hope that by doing what I did, it's going to help the whole system," Degner told the Canadian Press.