Adopt a Farm Animal

Two Lambs Find Friendship at Farm Sanctuary

Squid and Otto sheep at Farm Sanctuary.

Adopt a Farm Animal

Two Lambs Find Friendship at Farm Sanctuary

Most farmers wouldn’t give Squid and Otto a chance.

Both lambs had severe health conditions that rendered them unfit for meat production. Otto, born with neurological impairment, can’t eat unassisted. Meanwhile, Squid sustained permanent damage from a badly broken leg.

In many cases, farmers will put ailing animals “out of their misery” since they have no monetary value. Luckily, the boys’ guardians fell in love with the lambs, and felt that they deserved a second chance.

The pair came to Farm Sanctuary three weeks apart, and met on Otto’s first day here. Through their “bromance,” these spunky sheep are pushing through their health challenges together.

Squid and Otto sheep at Farm Sanctuary.

Otto (left) and Squid (right) sharing a meal together.

Squid was bred at the request of a Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter. According to plan, a student would raise the purebred lamb, show him at the local fair, and then sell Squid at auction—likely resulting in his slaughter.

Instead, the program was canceled due to COVID-19. Around the same time, Squid’s mother accidentally stepped on his leg, breaking it beyond repair.

This prevented Squid’s breeders from selling him elsewhere. It also left them asking: What do we do?

Squid lamb.

Squid en route to his new life at Farm Sanctuary.

Some people, faced with similar circumstances, choose to cull their injured animals. Squid would need extensive—and expensive—medical care, and there was no guarantee that in the end, he’d be healthy enough to sell.

Thankfully, Squid’s breeders bonded with the little lamb, and did what they could to save his life. When his care needs exceeded their abilities, they sought Sanctuary placement, and Squid came to us.

Squid’s leg has since healed, albeit unevenly; he takes daily stints in a custom wheeled cart to support his weight and improve his mobility. But even more important for his healing has been his bond with fellow lamb Otto.

Squid lamb at Farm Sanctuary

Squid has been lovingly named “Hot Wheels” for his swift moves in his new cart.

Otto was born on a commercial sheep farm, and had issues of his own. As a “bummer lamb,” he couldn’t nurse from his mom; in fact, he couldn’t even open his mouth on his own.

A nearby landowner who helps raise “bummer” lambs brought Otto home with her. His case was more severe than others, however, and she reached out to Farm Sanctuary for help.

We hoped that Otto might learn to eat from watching Squid; he did, in fact, start to mimic his “big brother” by touching his lips to the water trough! He still needs our help much of the time, though, and we work with Otto up to five times a day—from guiding him to water, to placing his food directly in his mouth to cue his chewing. Squid grew jealous of his friend, thinking that he should be hand-fed, too (Brothers!).

Squid and Otto sheep at Farm Sanctuary.

Squid wants to be hand-fed, too.

Both Squid and Otto are happy little lambs who love life and one another. When Squid’s in his cart, they go on grand adventures—romping back and forth in their shared space!

This Valentine’s Day, you can share the love with these special boys, too! With a $35 symbolic adoption through Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt a Farm Animal Program, you’ll support Squid and Otto’s ongoing care, along with our work to rescue, rehabilitate, and advocate for other farm animals like them. In gratitude, we’ll send you a digital certificate featuring these best buds. Print and display it at home or work, or email it to the individuals you love!

Farm animals, just like people, are capable of love—and seeing them thrive does our hearts good, too. Join us in celebrating this beautiful partnership, and in sharing this love with those who still need us most.

Two Lambs With Special Needs Become Best Friends
Download Audio

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] Otto was born on a production farm that raised and bred sheep for meat. Otto was deemed a bummer lamb. He was born very sick, and he was unable to nurse from his mother. A woman who lived nearby regularly rescues by bummer lambs and takes them back to her property, rehabilitates them so that they are able to reintegrate to the flocks. She reached out to us at Farm Sanctuary, and we were able to meet her in Utah. And he went straight up to UC Davis so that we could get more diagnostic work done for him.


UC Davis diagnosed him with irreversible neurological issues. One of their suggestions for Otto was to have him live with another sheep. They were hoping that if Otto lived with someone else, that he would mimic the other friend eating hay, drinking water, and hopefully would be able to possibly learn how to do that himself.


Squid was born into an FFA program, Future Farmers of America, where students breed animals in order to show them, and then they are eventually auctioned into the meat industry. When Squid was a few days old, his mother accidentally trampled on his rear left leg, resulting in a break right above his hock.


So once Squid came to the farm, we ended up landing on trying a wheelchair for him. And the second we put him in, it was an instant success. He really got the hang of it very quickly. He realized how fast he could go, and so he would just race around everywhere. We started referring to him as Hot Wheels.


Hello. [INAUDIBLE].


So we had Squid already at our facility down here, and we thought that was a perfect fit. And Otto and Squid became fast friends. Sometimes when we refer to Squid and Otto together, we call them by their couple name, which is Squotto. It's very cute. Sheep naturally like to form subgroups. So it's their own little social circles that they tend to do most of their activities with, like sleeping together, eating together, playing together. We of course see that in our relationship with Squid and Otto. They're very close to each other.


Otto is now able to drink on his own. He first would put his nose into the water bucket. Sometimes it would go up his nose and he'd do a little sneeze into the water bucket. But now we actually are seeing him drink in the water and actually swallow it. And that was most likely due to really watching Squid do that himself as well.


It's very heartwarming to see a sheep with mobility issues and a sheep with neurological issues come so far in such a short amount of time. But that is the power of love, and that is the power of sanctuary. And Squid and Otto are truly better together.


[MUSIC PLAYING]