Goodbye Sarah

I lost a wonderful ewe this weekend, V Creek Sarah.  I know a lot of you know why this ewe was so important to my breeding program.............ie: UK bloodlines, fantastic micron results, etc..., but the real sadness comes from the fact that I truly loved this ewe.  She had a gentle eye and despite the fact that she was pretty flighty when she first came to us last year, she turned into a sweet and friendly soul, and during the last several weeks, I've grown even more fond of her due to her quiet ways and superb mothering, even though her own health continued to fail.  

I thought she had pneumonia, and she did, but it was because she was laying around so much due to her real issue, a pinched nerve which the vet and I believe occurred while she was giving birth.  After 6 weeks of careful nurturing, she just couldn't seem to go on any longer.  It was only at the end that I realized how much pain she was actually enduring, and I vowed to have the vet out the next day to put her down, but she was gone when the sun rose on Sunday.  As I sit here trying to decide if I had done everything I could for this awesome ewe, I realize that I had, and yet I still question if I could have done something sooner that would have tipped the scale to her advantage.  

My only consolation is that I have 2 wonderful ewe lambs from this sheep, Solace, her lamb from last year and Seneca, this year's ewe lamb.  Seneca gently nugged her mom to try to get her to get up on Monday morning and it was darned near my undoing.  I give Seneca extra attention and scratches, in the hopes that will help ease her separation anxiety, but it's still sad to see her wandering around looking for a mom that isn't there.

This shepherdess is too soft hearted for this sort of thing.  Sarah will be buried on the hill over looking the pastures where she may now rest forever.........pain free.  

Sarah and her ewe lamb this spring

Sarah and Seneca