Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will recall that in July of 2014, we became the lucky recipients of two gorgeous brown sheep. We named the mother sheep Sheila, and her young son Tesla. We were able to get these rather valuable sheep rather inexpensively because they were frankly, too bright to be ordinary sheep. The two of them frequently escaped from their original farm. In fact, I once found flockmembers of theirs on the country road and secured them with dog leashes and brought them home. Eventually, the original farmer was happy to let them go because "sheep too bright to be sheep" tend to lead the rest of the flock away from the farm and into trouble.
When we brought them home, we knew they could not be housed together, but although they were housed separately, they liked to see one another from different pens. They got along well with dogs, horses, and most especially with alpacas. Tesla was named for the scientist Tesla, and not for the car or the business that followed.
So much life has happened since 2014. Our animals grew, our family grew, we started a new business. Sometime,s it seems that animals move through their own lives at break neck speed.
In 2020, at about maximum lifespan, Sheila came in to the barn, lay on her side, and passed quite quickly. This is always sorrowful even when they live a life of a length that is expected. Tesla was initially quite concerned, but adapted once we put him in with an alpaca at night. Cammie the alpaca seemed to think he was her baby, and he seemed to enjoy the attention.
Although we never had any of the escape behaviors seen at the prior farm, we did have one problem with Tesla. If you were facing him you had no problem, but if you turned your back on him, he would occasionally head butt a human being, usually in the back of the knees ! We explained how painful this was, and how undesirable, and as he aged, it didn't seem to happen as much.
This year we realized that Tesla was probably a bit more than ten years old. We noticed that he wasn't moving as well as he had been. Although his hooves were healthy, he seemed to have some crepitus in his hips. We also noticed that one cornea was beginning to cloud, and that he likely had an evolving cataract. This can now be treated in some animals with a particular eye drop, so we planned to watch it. Tesla began to slow down and have difficulty grazing and being active in May. We gave him some extra attention, and made sure that he was brought in and secured in a room in the barn with an alpaca at night. We also made some changes in his food as his appetite was less consistent than it had been. Tesla also got a shorter haircut this year because elderly animals do not tolerate extreme summer heat. By July he needed to be reminded to eat, and reminded to drink. We would change the water numerous times through the day because he would only drink very cool water.
Despite the fact that my husband worked tirelessly to keep Tesla comfortable, exercised, fed, grazed and loved, this week he remained in a room of the barn under two fans while lying on the cool clean smooth concrete floor of the barn. We knew that our time with our brilliant sheep was drawing to a close. Cammie the alpaca lay beside him most evenings. The barn cat, Albinus, sat beside him as if it were something the king of the barn would do. We played the radio his his room softly during the days and some nights. Tesla passed at 9:44 pm last evening with my husband, Cammie, and Albinus in attendance. The horses were quiet as they knew what was going on on the other side of the barn. I was sad not to have been present when he passed, but I had been there a few minutes earlier, and told him how loved he was, and that it was alright to go to his mother, and his siblings. No matter how long they live, it never gets easier.
Tesla will be buried here on the farm. If you ever wonder about the personality of the sheep, there is a delightful children's DVD series from England called Shawn the Sheep, that we acquired some time after Sheila and Tesla joined us. We were surprised sometimes as to how much Shawn was like Tesla.
Tesla, we love you, and you will be missed. We will make sure Cammie has a new companion, though a miniature horse seems to be most interested in joining her at the moment. Somehow we are lesser humans now that we are sheepless.
