Thank you all so much for your kind condolence wishes for Zara. She was a truly special lamb who quickly grew very dear to my heart.
There was an immense investment of time put into Zaras care... literally a 24-hour job over 3 weeks. There was some guilt on my part, that I was neglecting the rest of the flock.
Having raised Arapawa sheep for over a decade with few issues, I’ve unfortunately learned that when a lamb gets sick, their decline can be terrifyingly swift.
We spent three weeks battling for her life. Initially, I felt death was inevitable, yet we had to try. A week in, I started to feel optimistic, believing we were past the worst. Everything was looking good. However, the last three days brought uncontrollable bloat, and despite multiple visits to the vet, her little body finally gave up this morning at 7:30 am.
She passed away peacefully here at home, her head resting in my hands and her little eyes looking up at me. I talked to her softly and calling her name until she took her final breath.
A few tears then followed.
Moments like these make you question why I raise livestock that I treat as pets.
The emotional difficulty of losing any animal under your care is immense, and you’re inevitably left asking if you could have done anything differently or better.
It would be easy to simply give it all up.
But I feel that if you aren’t feeling these emotional ups and downs, you aren’t truly living.
I love my flock dearly, and as hard as it can be on days like this, the good days always outnumber the bad.
We currently have 36 sheep and lambs, so life goes on. My duties must continue... and I do love every minute of it.
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