He broke his neck on a bull. Now he keeps it as a ‘big ol’ pet’ at his Texas ranch.

The hefty black bull was always going to hold a place in rodeo history. He was, after all, the last bull the great J.B. Mauney ever rode, and it was a ride that didn’t last long; the bull, Arctic Assassin, bucked him off within seconds last September, and Mauney broke his neck, an injury that ended the famed $7 million cowboy’s career.

But that alone isn’t the reason Arctic Assassin rapidly became one of the most well-known bulls in America in recent weeks.

No, Arctic didn’t just retire Mauney.

He retired with him.

That detail was one of several nuggets we covered in our wide-ranging feature and interview with Mauney earlier this month. In fact, when we arrived at Mauney’s XV Ranch near Stephenville, Arctic, 11, greeted us at the front gate.

Mauney described the old bull as a “big ol’ pet” and “dog gentle,” capable of being scratched and petted without worry.

Mauney proved his point. He walked us over to the pasture where he keeps Arctic and Baxter, another retired bucking bull. While we cautiously tip-toed along the fence line, Mauney walked right up to Arctic.

“Which side?” Mauney asked him. “This side?”

Mauney then began petting the hulking bull like a dog.

“This is the one that ended it,” Mauney said. “The bull I was on when I broke my neck.”

The exchange between Mauney and Arctic was just one piece of our larger story. But we decided to throw up a clip of the moment on social media. The reaction took off more than we could have imagined.

Between Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, the video of Mauney and Arctic was viewed tens of millions of times. Our story also came on the heels of Mauney’s and Arctic’s connection playing a role in an extensive story about Mauney’s career in the Washington Post, and Mauney’s own social media posts with Arctic.

The flood of reactions and comments ranged from awe to appreciation in how Mauney made amends with the bull that ended his career. Not that Mauney ever held any ill will to begin with.

“He had a job to do,” Mauney said. “I just didn’t do mine.”

A thousand or so miles to the north, Arctic’s previous owner, Matt Scharping, could only smile.

“We see that every day,” Scharping said of Mauney’s connection with Arctic. “It’s just a respect thing. We see it a lot.”