Rescue & Adoptions

2008 Featured Rescues

Orphaned Lamb Finds His Fortune at Farm Sanctuary

Move over Mr. Twist, there's a brand new Oliver in town-one with his very own rags to riches story to share. Hungry, sick and down on his luck when he arrived at our door, this orphaned lamb, with one look, asked for more and got it all under our care. But just like any other coming of age tale, Oliver's happy ending cannot be fully revealed without first recounting the trials he faced before finding his fortune here.

Sans the pick pockets and porridge, our Oliver's tale began on a solitary stoop in the dark of night where he-a 10-pound, one-week-old lamb-had been left tucked inside a box without a note or any real history to speak of. Making her final rounds of our New York Shelter before turning in, a caregiver, attracted by the sudden glow of a motion sensor light on our hospital porch, discovered the small bundle so mysteriously entrusted to us.

Lifting the little one into her arms, the caregiver carefully examined Oliver and could tell, right away, that he had been denied proper care from the moment of his birth. So the next morning, we took him to Cornell University's Veterinary Hospital where our greatest fears were confirmed: Our new little ward was not only weakened and feverish, but plagued by infection that was spreading fast and threatened to take his young life.

Oliver was started on an antibiotic IV to keep him stable while radiographs and other diagnostics were taken to determine the extent of his illness. Like many other young animals we have rescued from neglect in the past, Oliver was suffering from septicemia-a serious condition that, in him, had started as an infection of his navel and traveled to a joint in his front left leg, already making him lame.

And so, the next day, the little boy we barely yet knew, went into surgery and was fitted with a catheter that carried medication to his joint-a treatment, we hoped, that would save him, as well as his tiny limb. But as days passed, Oliver's condition only worsened, and we opted for a second surgery that allowed doctors to explore the inside of his joint. This time, they found that the bone was infected and a portion of it had to be removed.

After doing all we could do medically, we turned to nurturing what we found to be a mighty spirit, by visiting Oliver in the hospital every chance we had and giving him the love his mother never could. Each day, we fell deeper in love with the lamb, and he with us, and by the end of the next week, he was free of infection and ready to come home.

At Farm Sanctuary, Oliver now stands tall on all four legs, and, we expect, will be going all kinds of places in a just a matter of weeks-namely, joining our flock and settling into a proper family life. A sweet and loving boy, Oliver has truly found his station in life-his newfound fortune culminating not in wealth or renown as humans may desire, but in a precious chance to simply be valued and live without a care.