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Joy of Medina County Magazine | July 2022
THE READING NOOK
photos and story by Janine Smalley
There is a sheep that is near death on the side of the freeway? Bring it here now, I will have the vet here immediately. This brings us to the story of Baa.
Greetings Readers, I want to take a moment to apologize for not having a story in the magazine the last two months. Every time that I sat down at my computer to tell this story, I could not get Baa arrives at the sanctuary so the words out. weighed down with years of unshorn wool that she could no longer stand. Then, when they More than 40 pounds of wool were started to flow, so sheared off of her, a regular annual did the tears. amount would be approximately 10 pounds. I contemplated not telling this story because sanctuary life is all about saving the animals, playing with cute baby goats, Henry the goat’s shenanigans, sunshine, and rainbows, right? Unfortunately, that is not always the case. The truth is that sanctuary life can be a roller coaster of emotions. One minute you are laughing and smiling while watching animals run and play, experiencing the birth of a newborn goat, or watching a mama hen teach her baby chicks how to peck at all of the yummy bugs in the pasture. Then in the next moment, you are catching up on emails, text messages, social media posts, and answering calls to help an animal that has been forsaken by their human guardians. Saving and caring for animals does not stop when the clock strikes five. It does not wait for you to finish your breakfast and savor your morning coffee. It is staying up late, getting up before the roosters, changing plans at the last minute because an animal just seems “off.” It is loving animals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is always foremost in my mind. “No” is not a word that I am familiar with when it comes to an animal in need. You have a rooster you cannot keep in the city? Sure, I will give it a loving home. You have a very sick baby goat, and you cannot afford to care for it? Bring it on over, we will help it.
he summer sun was high in the sky and the hay fields stood still with no breeze to help them dance in the hot July morning. The corn in the fields was getting tall, thanks to an unseasonably wet spring. It was peaceful and serene in the country. It was a perfect Saturday morning to just sit back on the porch with a cup of sweet tea and take in the sights, sounds and smells of a gorgeous summer day on the farm. The animals, full from their breakfast, were napping in the shade. Who could blame them? It was only 10 a.m., and the pavement already was so hot it could be felt through the soles of shoes. I took one more sip of tea and stood up to start the afternoon chores, filling my pockets with treats, a pocketknife and my phone, in case there were any calls for animals needing assistance. Even before I put the first flake of hay in the feeder, the phone rang. There was a sheep that was found on the side of the highway, unable to stand covered in years of heavy fleece. My heart sunk and immediately I told the humane officer to bring her to the sanctuary. I gathered all of the supplies I thought would be needed and anxiously awaited her arrival. In fewer than 30 minutes, a truck pulled into my drive. A team assembled to help this poor sheep into the barn. She could not stand; she was crying out, not knowing where she was or what was happening. I am quite sure she was extremely uncomfortable. The first step was to relieve her of the more than 45 pounds of wool her frail body was supporting. After her wool was shorn, we cooled her off with a nice soak in a kiddie pool, got her fluids, and food. The veterinarian arrived and thoroughly examined her. She was emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from snow blindness. Snow blindness caused by leaving
The Girl With the Crooked Smile
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