When Jody and I were first married, he decided that our kids (then ages 5, 6 & 7) were old enough to show sheep and he thought it would be a good experience for them. So he bought each of them their very own sheep to raise, train and eventually show at the county fair. At this point, the only farm experience I had was from watching Lassie and Little House on the Prairie re-runs growing up. Naturally, the new family “pets” were more my responsibility than the kids’ but I love animals so I wasn’t complaining. “Shaun”, “Tricia” and “Maxie” took up residence in our side yard and I fed and watered them every day just like the dogs. The kids would help occasionally as I would remind them that the sheep were supposed to be their responsibility. From time to time, we would work with them by putting their halters on and leading them around the yard. This was as much of an experience for me as it was for the kids. We were all so proud!
One day while my husband was working a 24 hour shift at the Fire Department, I arrived home to find Chloe’s sheep, Tricia, lying down at the edge of the yard, lifeless. In a panic, I called my husband not knowing what to do. He has the most patience of anyone I have ever known. He calmly talked to me and explained that he needed me to take the sheep to Auburn University so they could run some tests and tell us why it had died. He went on and about how important it was that we find out the cause of death in order to protect the other sheep but I was still trying to digest the notion that I was expected to transport this sheep to the University. I fretted, hemmed and hawed around until finally I confessed that I just couldn’t pick up this dead animal and put it into my car. Jody told me not to worry, he would send his brother Isaac to my rescue. Within minutes, Isaac arrived and without any hesitation whatsoever grabbed the sheep and placed it in the trunk of my car where I’d luckily thought to line with trash bags to prevent any possible contamination.
Still in shock, I set out on the 15 minute drive to campus but not without calling my best friend. I recall saying, “You will never guess what I’m doing… I have a dead sheep in my trunk!”. After a brief run down of what was happening she was laughing hysterically. The day would come that I found it funny too but this was not the day. I arrived at my destination and the young man that met me handled the carcass so that I didn’t have to, thank goodness. He assured me they would run the necessary tests and send us a report as soon as it was available.
Meanwhile, we had to replace Chloe’s sheep with another so she would have one to show. We soon discovered that the new sheep had somehow acquired a broken leg. After dinner one night, my husband, a friend (who happens to be a veterinarian), and a welding machine fashioned the new sheep with a splint for it’s broken leg. It was a success! I had never seen craftsmanship such as this - I was amazed! The sweet little sheep hobbled around on it’s little splint and we were all overjoyed. Unfortunately, our joy was short-lived as that sheep too passed away the next day or so. Apparently, the injury was worse than we had realized.
So there we were with the Lee County Fair fast-approaching and Chloe’s sheep had already died twice. There was no time to get another sheep. We had three children and only two sheep. Luckily, a friend saved the day and loaned her a sheep to show the night of the competition. They all did great. It was very much a learning experience, for all of us. While we enjoyed it, we have never shown sheep again.
