By Chris R.
In late September we received an early morning message
regarding a tiny lamb, found alone in bushland north of Perth. She could
not stand and appeared to be blind. Her kind rescuer promptly dropped her
to our vet, who confirmed that baby Annie had some differences. She was one
special little lamb.
At first thought to be deaf and blind, we were very pleased
to confirm that Annie had sharp hearing and her vision, while slightly impaired, was
sufficient to allow her to walk confidently between obstacles. At under
2kg, she was one of the littlest lambs to arrive in the season.
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| Annie & Angel playing |
Annie returned to the vet for further assessment and while no real
diagnosis could be made, it was agreed her differences may have a genetic
origin. Annie's eyes moved constantly, from side to side, consistent
with nystagmus, something we had not encountered in sheep before. She
would also run in circles when excited or stressed. When the kettle
boiled in readiness for a bottle of milk or when we entered the house, Annie’s
trade mark ‘spinning’ was noted. It appeared to accompany her joy and enthusiasm. She
was happiest when tucked in bed with us each evening. She hooved the blankets to
get comfortable amongst the pillows.
As Annie grew, so too did her amazing woolly coat. Like hair but with massive curls, we were in awe of its colours and volume. She was happy to accompany us to Augusta and Albany
on two seaside holidays with the family, snoozing in the car and taking in the
sea air. Not long after her arrival, a similar sized buddy arrived, Angel
the goat. The two enjoyed supervised playtime together, until Angel
started to get a little larger and began ‘goat’ play.
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| Annie on the couch |
Annie is now over twelve weeks old and her favourite place is on
the couch with the humans. Her pen is in the kitchen. She is central to
the household and rarely alone. Annie is nervous around larger sheep at
the moment, but we have not ruled out finding the ‘right’ ovine companion for her
should one join us in the Valley. In the meantime, we are more than happy
to be her best non sheep friends.
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| Annie at twelve weeks |
