[Jacob-list] Unhappy Sheep Tales

[Cathy Robinson]

After reading Paul and Mary's unhappy sheep tales I decided this must be
the day for sad sheep stories.  I hope there can be some happy endings
to yours yet.

Today we lost a grand old girl, who originated on Edd Bissell's farm at
least 10 years ago...maybe 11 or 12...or more?  She came to me from the
Belfield flock  nearly two years ago, as one of four...a sort of
freebie, tag-along because she was the life-long (really!) friend and
companion of the other oldster in my group.  Pippi was just a "good old
girl"--- the first to call for feeding time,  pretty much kept everyone
else in line.  She was WAY  too freckled to be registered, quite
arthritic and showing her age....but had a really great year here...even
surprising us by being pregnant and raising one of the twins she had in
March.  Last year she was everyone else's babysitter and we thought her
reproductive years were over...this year she had one of her own to tend
and it truly gave her a "new lease on life".

An area had developed on her breastbone that started out as a tiny
sore....first detected when the shearer was here and it got nicked.
About a month ago she was bleeding from that area, and when we turned
her over to inspect and treat, the dime-sized lesion had grown to
approximately the size of a half of a tennis ball.  It bled freely that
day, but was pretty quickly stopped....for the next week we checked and
treated and she had no problems since.

This morning, as everyone gathered at the gate  waiting for me to arrive
with the feed bucket, we found her bleeding profusely from that same
area.  My guess is that she got jabbed by one of the new 4-horns as she
waited for her breakfast, because there was no blood anywhere in the pen
except in that specific area. For over two hours we held her head and
applied pressure to the wound in her chest, but there was no stopping
the bleeding or saving her this time.  She quietly slipped away with her
caretakers at her side and working over her.

We will miss her voice and her presence here for a long time.

Cathy Robinson
Perfect Spot Farm