Clinging to Life

The little lamb that was just born is not doing well. He was weak and skinny, much much more so than he should have been. Today, he is not using his left hing leg at all, not putting any weight on it. It appears normal, but the bones are soft, so it is hard to tell. My guess is that either his mother or another of her mates stepped on the little guy.

This evening, while I was playing cards with my friend, I heard the bleating of a sheep. I suspected it was the mother calling her boy and went out to investigate. Sure enough, she was frantic, going from one end of the pen and the barn to the other. The lamb was nowhere in sight. Robbie, the border collie, found him outside the fence under a spruce tree, huddled in the snow and ice, shivering. He was unharmed, but how he got himself out there, I have no idea. I am just grateful to have found him safe and alive.

I took him back inside and presented him to mamma. He did not try to nurse, so he could not have been lost for too long, I think. Instead, he laid down on the straw and curled up, with mamma ever watchful over him. I sure hope he makes it and that whatever his problem is with his leg, it rights itself soon, so he can run and jump and play like a little lamby should . 

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