Milo

Earlier this year I wrote about our sheep, Gabriel, and the attack he endured last January.  Milo, our hair sheep, also was attacked that day.  I’ve sat and pondered on his story a lot this past year and decided to share more about it. 

In 2021 we saw a little lamb posted from the sheep farm we were on a waiting list for.  A little hair sheep with the most adorable black floppy ears.  I quickly messaged her and asked if we could possibly have him.  She answered yes, and we named him “Milo”.  A few days later she contacted us to let us know our little Milo was having a hard time.  He was a twin and his mom was a little more about tough love so he wasn’t getting the milk and nutrition he needed.  She asked if we would be willing to bottle feed him and take him early.  Armed with google and “Storey’s Book of Sheep Keeping” we went and picked up our tiny little lamb, no more than 10 pounds.  

Milo was the closest thing to a baby we’ve had.  We took turns getting up at all hours of the night to feed him (he gave us a scare the first few days when he didn’t want to eat at all!), changed his diaper and he lived with us in our tiny barn apartment.  When we went to town for errands or to my parent’s house he came with us.  My mom used to love to hold him and rock him to sleep in her chair.  Our little lamb ended up growing much larger than we ever expected!

In his first year of life he gave us lots of lessons!  The first was when he was being weaned onto pasture and he saw the grass as a non stop buffet and we were dealing with bloat! Several times a day I would put his halter on and take him for walks (which he hated!) Sometimes we would take him for rides on the golf cart in hopes that the bouncing would get his rumen working a little better.  Everyday I sat with him, often in my swing, and patted his belly while he laid beside me. 
When we had won the battle of bloat the next challenge he gave us was his sudden susceptibility to worms, specifically barber pole worms, which can be deadly to a sheep.  Again we were calling in friends, vets and our sheep mentor to get him well again.  I was so afraid of all these things he seemed to be just overly-sensitive to so I began researching as many natural preventatives as I could.  I knew for many a sheep like this would be culled for all the “trouble” he seemed to be worth but this was my lamb.  I had been given this animal and I was determined to do all I could to take care of him to the best of my ability.  

Milo’s second year was much better.  All of my research and questions to other vets and breeders paid off and Milo grew strong and healthy with no more health issues.  He was happy, robust and unafraid of just about everything.  He made me laugh on a daily basis.  He was comical in his attempts to get back inside the house!  He would still leave the flock to go for a walk with me through the field or woods.  He never seemed to ever 100% outgrow his lamb like tendencies with me.  

When we found Milo the day of the attack he was standing in the bottom of a 12 ft deep rip rap filled creek.  His ears were mostly gone and he seemed to be in shock.  It took Jordan, my Dad and some good friends of ours to chainsaw a tree down just to get to him.  They lifted him out of the creek and into a trailer the neighbors allowed us to borrow. 
At first I was hopeful that his ears would be the extent of his injury but somewhere along the fall he had busted the tendons in his leg. We had an entire team of people calling and researching on how to best treat him.  We were speaking with our vet, Dr. Justin, here in Mayfield who was talking with several vets, we were also speaking with our mentors, sheep/goat vets in Paducah and also the sheep/goat vets at the University of Knoxville and everyone was invested in figuring out how to treat this sheep of ours. 
I’m so thankful for Dr. Justin and several of the vets and techs at Mayfield Vet for being so open to different treatment options for Milo.  Only one vet ever suggested putting him down and like so many other vets we agreed that he was worth fighting for. 
Over the next several weeks Milo had his entire leg wrapped and braced in hopes that the tendons would fuse together so they could at least be strong enough to hold his weight.  At the end of 6 weeks we took the cast off.  While it was improved his foot still splayed and I worried about pain management and his leg being injured more easily.  Again, I researched.  I ended up finding a company that specializes in creating permanent braces and even prosthetics for livestock.  I called, sent in photos and videos and soon enough our wonderful vet and his tech were back out at the farm and we were making cast molds of Milo’s leg! 

Over the course of just a few months Milo’s brace worked so well and we saw a significant improvement in his leg!  So much so he doesn’t even have to wear it that often anymore! 
We watched his leg continue to heal months after the attack and he still amazes us by how happy he is again.  He is strong again, running (leaping even!) and bossing the rest of the flock around! We laugh because he has taken his “bad” leg and seems to wield it like it’s his own weapon at times! Isn’t it amazing how he has taken what should be a weakness and uses it as a strength!

While I wouldn’t wish that day again for the world so much was taught to me through those months of Milo’s recovery.  The absolute outpouring of support and encouragement we received quite literally overwhelmed me.  The first night we were able to bring Milo home our neighbor immediately came over with supper for Jordan and I. She walked through the gate saying “Where’s that baby!?” and couldn’t get to Milo fast enough. It was truly amazing and so humbling to see how much people cared for our sheep.
The days that passed we had frigid below zero temps and more than one neighbor came by to offer help and food as we spent hours preparing a new stall for Milo and Gabriel and around the clock care with medications, wound cleaning and vaccinations. 
When we began selling bouquets in order to help pay for the expenses we were again overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.  So many people played an incredibly special part in the recovery of our sheep.  I think receiving that much care, prayers and support from so many people is something I’ll never fully get over or take for granted. 

Through the first month I struggled with feeling guilty for all the support we were receiving. Growing up there were times where I would hear that animals were so far beneath us they didn’t deserve extra care or even prayers. While I know it isn’t true and I believe all of creation is significant, those old pangs of guilt kept knocking at the door of my thoughts and old phrases of “it’s just an animal” kept coming to mind. But with each negative thought God seemed to remind me of Nathan and David in the Bible. At first I couldn’t understand why I would need to be reminded of a story about the rebuking of David for his actions toward Uriah but his reminders kept persisting so finally I decided to look up the verses and read it over again.

“There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except for one little ewe lamb he had bought.  He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms.  It was like a daughter to him.” (2 Samuel 12: 1b-3)
IT WAS A PET SHEEP!
The realization swept over me.  What a beautiful reminder from God that it matters.  Our little lamb matters and God truly does value His creation so much that even through a little sheep He does wonderful things for us. 
I think that day I really began to learn to accept His grace and blessings for us and our flock here. 
I think there is a reason why God speaks of sheep so much in the Bible.  They truly are such a unique creature.  They will follow their shepherd even to death not because they are stupid but because they trust them.  They were one of the first to hear of Christ’s birth, they were the atonement for sins before Christ’s death and resurrection.  They are the metaphor spoken about in Psalm 23 to remind us that no matter the place in life we are in, God’s leadership will bring us back to safety and rest.  He speaks of them knowing his voice and leaving everything to rescue one. 
I’m thankful for the lessons I’ve been allowed to learn from this little flock that’s been put under my care.  I’m thankful for such gentle lessons that remind me more of who God is and how He loves and cares for us.  I’m thankful for my sheep who know my voice and follow me and teach me how to better know God’s voice and how to follow Him. 

“Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” -Psalm 100: 3