Well, the cosy corner has certainly made a huge difference to the lives of the eight year old lambs who arrived earlier this year. The dedication of Louise, Dave, Mandy and Janet plus homoeopathic and conventional medicine, limb massage, lots of good food and love has got seven of the lambs now walking. Biggles continues to need help to get up but once he’s up he’s off! Honey walks on her knees – so far - watch this space. Kanga now gets up by herself. Only Christopher is not walking at all but he seems ecstatically content and we are designing a contraption to stand him in so his legs will touch the floor but the contraption will take his weight. His tendons are still very tight in all his legs but Mandy manipulates his limbs and massages them with oil. He does not appear to be in any pain at all. They have all put on weight and thrived and have now been sheared by Dave and Louise.

Sad Goodbyes

bovril the cow Pip the dog, with ann mootoo the cow nana the sheep

In the last two months we have had to say goodbye to some of our real characters here at the Sanctuary. Nana the ancient ewe who so loved her porridge and needed a blanket for a few days after she was sheared last year; Murphy and Spike two old rams; Bovril one of the two black cows who we inherited from the farmer when we moved here and Mootoo the White Park Ornamental Bull who, rescued by the vicar as a calf, was with us for almost the whole of his nineteen years of life. Also we have lost Pip the mongrel already old when she arrived we were privileged to have her with us for five years - a small dog with a happy and dignified personality who used to “help” Ann clean out the henhouse on Sunday’s. As Janet says, “For a small dog she has left a big space.”