I first got to know Phill through news stories, in social media posts and on local TV.

By the time I met him while volunteering at Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Oxford, the water buffalo was an established celebrity.

The story of his escape — how he evaded slaughter, led officials on a five-day chase through Pleasant Hill and spent about two weeks recovering from a gunshot wound in Iowa State University’s Large Animal Hospital — had been shared everywhere from the front cover of the Des Moines Register to the Washington Post’s Inspired Life section.

But the story of the rest of his life in sanctuary is just beginning to unfold.

“If you were particularly touched by Phill, consider digging into that, that place of empathy that you felt for him, and exploring that and figuring out why you felt that and how that can be translated to making a difference for those other 124 million farm animals in Iowa alone,” said IFS co-founder Shawn Camp. “He’s no different. At the end of the day, he’s just a bull, like the ones we see across the street on pasture.”

I first met Phill after finishing with chores at the sanctuary on Sept. 14, three days after he arrived.

I watched in awe not because of how famous he’d become but by the fact that his act of bravery not only saved his own life but the lives of his two friends, Jane and Sal, who stood cautiously behind him.

The Des Moines Register reported that Prem Nepal, who was raising the water buffalo in Pleasant Hill for meat, was charged with animal at large, a simple misdemeanor in Iowa, according to a criminal complaint filed last week.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday and faces a fine of $105 to $855, or up to 30 days in jail.

Despite being shot, chased through town and having to spend about two weeks in the hospital, Phill was gentle and sweet, and welcomed human interaction.

He’s somehow more endearing in person.

“He came home, and he just settled right in and wanted cuddles and kisses and treats,” Camp said. “Seeing him every day is just kind of a good reminder of how to be. Don’t let the world harden you, I think would be Phill’s motto.”

Since IFS co-founders Shawn and Jered Camp welcomed the trio into their care, they’ve seen a spike in donations, visitors and followers on social media, as well as an instant sellout of Phill merchandise.

While Phill recovered in the hospital, a record number of visitors toured the sanctuary on Sept. 1 during a Sunday stroll, an event open to the public 1-4 p.m. each Sunday from late May through early October.

Meanwhile, one-time donations through the PayPal Giving Fund service in the past month matched the total amount from the previous eight months combined, Shawn Camp said.

And within three hours of posting a video on Facebook on Sept. 17 displaying new “Brave and Bulletproof” clothing items featuring Phill, everything sold out.

Camp had spent the previous day with animal caretaker Laura Wiederholt unboxing a shipment of over 200 T-shirts, hoodies and crew necks and organizing everything in the store in preparation for the next Sunday stroll.

“I even said to Laura as we were hanging stuff, ‘I think I went overboard; I ordered way too much,’” Camp said. “ … We spent all day putting stuff on hangers and getting photos and pricing everything out. And then literally, within a matter of three hours, I pulled everything off the shelf and threw the hangers out, so it was like a total waste of time.

“And now I just had to go in and reorder because I guess I didn’t order enough.”

Raygun owner Mike Draper experienced a similar flurry of orders when his company released a “Free Phill” shirt for sale online Aug. 28.

“We anticipated like nine or 10 [orders], and then we ended up selling over 100,” Draper said. “We’re like, ‘We actually have to print a bunch of these now and put them in the store.’”

On the third day, Draper said Raygun made a $500 donation to the sanctuary.

“We’re glad it had a happy ending,” Draper said. “It’s easy for us just to make a shirt about it. Obviously the farm sanctuary has to do more work and take care of Phill. We’ll hopefully keep selling the shirts to raise more money for the farm sanctuary, and we encourage other people to donate to the farm sanctuary, for Phill’s sake at least.”

IFS has also added 10,000 new followers on Facebook and 4,000 on Instagram, as people across Iowa and even the country have tuned in to his story.

The next step in Phill’s journey will be joining the cows, sheep and goats in the sanctuary’s big pasture, where Phill and his beautiful head of blonde hair will surely attract more attention.

“He’s got wavy comb-over, lots of wavy comb-over,” said Megan Geving, a hairstylist at Prime Cut beauty salon in Oxford. “I think your edging and lining is perfect. It looks symmetrical above each eyebrow.”

And it’s all natural, I pointed out.

“All natural,” Geving said. “He doesn’t even have a perm. He’s adorable.”

Geving said a Phill cut is something Prime Cut could offer customers if their hair is thick enough.

While Phill continues to warm the hearts of Iowans, Shawn and Jered Camp have committed to caring for the three water buffalo for the remainder of their lives.

“They live up to 40 years, and they’re approximately 2 years old, so we’ve got 38 years of care left,” Shawn Camp said. “Phill is a local celebrity now, but I would just encourage folks to continue to at least follow along with his story and support our work. He’s not our first big rescue, and he won’t be the last. The local support, Iowa support, is the most meaningful that we can get.”