Little Bitsy

Bitsy, 3 months

Meet Bitsy, the little darlin’ I am blessed to share life with.  She’s shy and quite aloof, but supposedly that is typical ‘ewe’ behavior.  Or, perhaps it is the result of a life started in trauma.
 
Bitsy’s mother died shortly after she gave birth due to starvation after being abandoned, along with many others who were just left to die, at a farm in southern California. She didn’t get the necessary immune system building colostrum from her mother, so when she came to live with me she needed special fortified milk.  Animal Acres in Acton, CA brought her and my two other sheep to me to love and care for.  She and I bonded famously while she was bottle feeding.  When she saw me, she would cry like baby, which moved me beyond anything I could have ever imagined!

Holding her while she ate felt as if I had my own child.  I felt needed.  Moreso than with the other two who came with her to live with me, namely Andy and Joey… who were babies too.

From Left:  Bitsy, Andy and Joey in back

But today, we are all the best of friends, and Andy for some reason has become extremely partial to me.   

The connection I feel to them is something that cannot be explained, it can only be understood through the experience.  The love that emanates from the species that so many think are “less than” human, and are treated as such by the billions each year in horrible, dark, loveless conditions, is so superior to human love in many ways, but mostly because it asks nothing in return.

Well, except they want to eat and drink,  a lot, and they want to live as much, if not more than human beings –  but if you are busy and can’t love them one afternoon, they don’t criticize or chastise or even argue.  They love you just as much and probably more, the next time they get to spend time with you. 

I can say that in my 5+ years with these precious beings, I have never felt unloved. They are the most gracious, sweet, gentle animals I have ever had the opportunity to care for, or the benefit to love.  

I have always believed, as I do today, that animals are superior in their capacity to love unconditionally. To me, that is a lesson we could, as humans, learn in spades. 

If you haven’t been gifted with the opportunity to raise your own farm animals, be they sheep, horses, cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, or anyone else, do yourself a favor –  take the time to visit a sanctuary.  I am sure you will find friendship and kindness beyond anything you could have expected.  

Be sure to look into the eyes of the animals – that is where their soul resides, and where you will see their beauty, and even a small likeness of yourself.