Counting Sheep by Laurie O'Leary

One day when my husband, Dr. Tim, Carol his vet tech and Phil from the SPCA were conducting a clinic in the small surgical unit at the sanctuary. I popped in to say "hello". I was home on my lunch hour from work. As I stood in the doorway i could see a lamb under the surgery table huddling against my husbands's legs. "What's that?" I exclaimed. "A lamb" he said. "Duh" I thought. But I guess I served that one up myself. "Why is there a lamb here?" I continued. "Because I don't know where to put it yet" he said. That was my first clue it was staying. "Is it ours?" I inquired. "Looks to be" he answered, "You said you always wanted a sheep". Well, yes it was a little girl fantasy of mine to have a cute woolly sheep, but I had also always wanted to fly yet I wasn't going to jump off any building anticipating it should or would happen.

Apparently Webster had been hauled from an auction by a kind lady that didn't want him to meet the fate she knew he was headed for; he was about lamb chop size. Once she got him home, her husband made some ultimatums. They apparently didn't live rural and he was into landscaping,not only for them,but their neighbors were his "clients" as well. The sheep was to go back to the auction if she didn't have him removed otherwise and quickly. Long story short, she knew some good friends of ours who were supporters of the sanctuary that couldn't resist a homeless sheep and happened to be coming to the clinic for an appointment the next day. Webster was in tow.

When he arrived during the summer, Webster was just a little thing and the goats were using him like Tigers Woods uses a golf ball. He was not safe. We ended up letting him sleep upstairs in the main house in one of the cat areas. He'd run into the house and clatter up the stairs like a fourteen year old girl wearing her first pair of high heels. Webster grew quickly though and was soon moved to the great outdoors with the pigs and the goats. Sheep don't litter train well.

Webster is somewhat of a goat light. Sheep aren't as destructive as goats are, but they're certainly just as mischievous. He also has another downfall that wasn't apparent until fall hit. He of course has a beautiful 100% wool sweater. It was quite lovely in its winter white hue against his black leggings. Unfortunately though with fall comes the maturing of the burdock plants. Ugh! His sweater now looks like a ball of bailing twine. There's no getting them all out, we can only pull a few here and there and hope that he doesn't Velcro himself to something before spring warms up enough for his shaving. Today I had to help Megan, one of the long-haired cats free herself from him. She apparently curled up with Webster for a nap, and well there she was stuck to him like a sucker on a carper. When he stood up she looked like a sidecar. Webster has also taken to chasing 4-wheelers up the road, a sight not to miss. Sheep do not appear to be very useful in the grand scheme of things, but he is something to count on those sleepless nights.