I received an email from a woman who told me that she was going to take in a frostbite-damaged lamb and that she'd heard that I had experience with the damage that frostbite causes.
We have a goat, Zuri, who came to us at 5 weeks of age. Two days later, a back foot fell off. The other has been salvaged (at least for now) but is badly deformed.
A series of surgeries, bandaging, and prostheses followed.
"Yes," I replied, and went through what was involved.
She decided that, since she already had a handicapped lamb who took a huge amount of time and money, she could not take him.
But, once I learned about him, I could not unlearn about him. The last thing I needed was another animal in the sanctuary, let alone a bottle baby.
But the video of him hopping around on three legs repeatedly played in my mind. The breeder didn't even realize there was a problem until the lamb's leg fell off! Imagine the pain he went through and was going through. How many of us have gotten our fingers way too cold in the winter and then felt the pain as they began to warm up. Now imagine how much damage and pain, was involved in order to go right through the femur and take the leg off about 3" below the hock.
Then I found out that there was another-- his half brother, two years his junior. The breeder said that one back toe might come off.
And so, I drove the two hours to pick them up.
When I saw them I was horrified. There was much, much more wrong than I'd been led to believe. The older one's ears were folded over and, well, crisp, and I knew that meant that most would drop off. The cute, white tip of his black tail would as well. And his other back foot was badly damaged.
His little brother had lost a back foot and his other one was also damaged. One ear developed notches as pieces came off.
Both had infections and both were constantly grinding their teeth--a sign of pain.
The breeder was not a bad person but had been given a lot of bad advice. She was going to leave them, let them live until 5 or 6 months, and then slaughter them to eat. I couldn't even imagine...
All the way home my emotions ran wild-- one minute I was in tears, in realization of the intense pain these babies had endured, and the next minute, absolutely furious that this happened to them in the first place.
But, I tried to calm myself, knowing that they were safe now and would get the treatment, and love, necessary.
And so began daily bandaging (and fashioning temporary prostheses which they loved!) vet visits, antibiotics, and pain relief. Before long, the teeth grinding stopped and they were running and bounding.
However, theirs is a very fast growing breed (Romanov) and bandaging is now really difficult, as is finding strong enough material that will work for their temporary prostheses.
The worst thing, however, is the damage that showed up with x-rays. Both will have to have their stumps shortened in order to remove the damaged bone that is left, and have them prepared for prostheses. For Jabari, that means that a regular prosthesis will not work (not enough room below the hock) but hopefully the prosthetist will be able to come up with something.
As well, each of the opposite back foot will have to be amputated-- there is just too much damage and although it's possible that part of it could remain, at this point the vet believes that taking the whole thing is more prudent.
We have a wonderful vet who goes beyond and thinks outside of the box for us, but he really won't know the true cost until he gets in there and sees exactly what needs doing. The estimate is $2500 each. It could be considerably more.
As well, the prostheses, including the casting material, exchange, and shipping, will be about $2400 per lamb. We have an excellent prosthetist who will provide the best care available. @specializedpetsolutions.com
They will need their two prostheses put on every morning and removed every evening.
They will be very expensive, time intensive sheep, but they will not be someone's dinner.
Oh, and their names are Jabari (the older one-- Swahili for brave) and Kenji (Japanese for strong and vigorous).
Of course, we also have 35 other animals to look after (does not include our own companion animals) and we have other vet bills that need to be paid. The lambs were recently castrated ($300 each), our elderly donkey is having urinary issues that have so far not been able to be diagnosed (he'll need more testing and treatment--I do not have the bills for the last two yet), I just discovered a mammary mass in our elderly, blind sheep who is in with the lambs, and there are several more minor issues that must be addressed. Plus, I'd really hoped to be getting more fence panels to give the horses and the cows more room-- and more grass. Then there is the maintenance needed before next winter... sigh...
Ah, it's the old, "it doesn't rain but it pours...". And, of course, all of this has poured onto us, at the same time, and at the worst time of year for donations.
I keep second guessing myself, wondering if I should have just left these babies to their fates. But then I shake my head-- "Seriously?" I ask myself, "Have you met me?"
We'll continue doing the heavy, physical work and carry the emotional strain with Jabari and Kenji. If you can possibly see your way to helping, even a little, it'd be so very much appreciated. If you cannot donate (and believe me, we live on government pensions-- I get it!) but are willing to share and spread the word, you will also have our appreciation.
Let's all pull together and help these little guys as well as possibly helping out our other ambassadors. We have very little time. The lambs need their surgeries soon and they are tentatively booked for June 7th. The prostheses must be paid for before they are assembled.
Ours is a world that currently seems full of hate and ugliness. But honestly, I truly believe that it is a facade. All of our animals, and especially the two newest babies, are showing us on a daily basis that, no matter what happens, love and beauty is everywhere and in every thing. These two love life and we will do all we can to be sure that their lives are long and full of happiness.
Thank you for your consideration and your support.
Diane C Nicholson
Twin Heart Animal Sanctuary
Highlights
See all activity53THAS--Who We Are
Vegans (now 27 years), my husband, Harry, and I, Diane Nicholson, decided to put our money, time, energy and every bit of our souls into starting a farm animal sanctuary, 7.5 years ago.
We bought a beautiful 8.5 acres and started rescuing farmed animals.
At a time in our lives, when all of our siblings and friends were retiring, we began the hardest job we ever had, and for no pay! Well, no monetary pay, but the love and gratitude of our animals more than makes up for it.
We have several handicapped animals: Shira, an elderly blind-for-her-whole-life sheep; Zuri, a 3.5 year old goat who lost a hind foot to frostbite when she was born up North on a very cold night (she was a house goat from when we got her at 5 weeks until just recently when she decided she'd rather live outdoors full-time); Forrest Gump, an almost #3,000 Holstein steer who came to us at 5 days of age, badly crippled (we fixed him up); Cash, a goat who was born with Cerebellar Hypoplasia and has major balance issues (although, she's learned to compensate quite well); Minerva, a now elderly hen who is blind in one eye; Alfie, a diabetic, deaf alpaca, and now, Jabari and Kenji, two lambs who have horrendous frostbite injuries.
The rest of our animals are fairly typical.
We do not re-home our animals. Instead, we make a pledge to them that there will be no more separation of families or friends and they will be here for life.
Although I have not had a single day off since we started this sanctuary, I don't regret a thing. Our animals are ambassadors and although they are only a drop in the bucket as far as rescuing all who need to be, they show folks that they are no different than their dogs or cats. They too, have emotions and feel fear, grief, happiness, sadness, terror, and, indeed, love.
As the saying goes-- they are friends, not food.
