Heartfelt Hattie
- Luca Dray
- Aug 21, 2019
- 2 min read
When I met Hattie, a baby lamb, she was 5 days old. She was a rescue from a farm, who was orphaned at birth, and was living at The Retreat Animal Sanctuary,
She was most likely the runt of the flock, as she was very small and quite weak for her age
She needed extra TLC, and energy healing, so to take the pressure off of the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary, and to ensure she got all the healing she needed, I took her home with me
She quickly responded, as she was fed on demand 24hrs a day... getting up at 2am then 4.30am gave me a good idea of what it is like to be a mother to a human child!
I noticed she was still a bit wobbly at times, and her breathing seemed fast, so I monitored her
Nappy on to avoid a trail of lamb wee!
8 days old and she seemed to have definite moments of stillness, wobbliness, and she felt quite hot. I messaged Billy at the Retreat to say I was getting concerned and thinking of taking her to the vet.
She was sitting on my lap as I was typing to him. I put my hand down to feel her and she collapsed sideways! She was completely unconscious and limp, and I rubbed her body hard to bring her around, after approx 1 minute she regained consciousness.
In the car and straight to the vet.
Hattie had an infection, either in her naval or her lungs, and her temperature was high. It was suspected her temp had spiked and had knocked her out.
Injection to bring down her temperature and a 7 day course of antibiotics
9 Days old
The very next day she had turned a corner!
So she had some visitors, to give her even more love and affection
She really liked the warmth of the fire, and so loved sitting on my lap as I worked
Two more days of running around the garden and drinking...lots!
Her cheeky, curious character came through and her strength became consistent and stable
She was now ready to return to her sheep family
It was bitter sweet, as looking after her for 6 days was emotionally intense, especially as she became so poorly, but she was ready to return to her natural environment and to her family
It feels so good and has been an honour to have been able to help her get strong and fully well, to see her blossom and her curious cheeky nature start to shine thro
She is now a strong, confident, fully integrated into the flock lamb. And she is beautiful
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