don’t let my dream fade….

Who stops for the one anymore?

Who takes an hour everyday to help you out .. to teach you the ropes .. and wants nothing more in return…

a good shepherd.

Since Saturday Benita has been slipping… my dream was fading.

She went off her feed and refused to eat.

I hoped her dates were wrong and she was going to lamb….  I sat out there every single day for hours just staring at her, trying to figure it all out.  I watched her for symptoms… anything.  She didn’t have a temp, she was drinking, nibbling hay , licking minerals, pooping, peeing, getting up and laying down and her eyes looked good.  When I wasn’t sitting in her pen I was inside…. ya know ,taking care of my family of 10… watching her out of the corner of my eye via a barn camera. Always watching….even Sunday, with a packed house, right over Fazz’s shoulder was the monitor and I was watching.

It took days and the farmer, Andy Karras,  who we bought her from talked to us everyday.    He called again last night and spoke to my HusBen… and then in a last ditch effort he asked for the feed tag.  I had bought feed from a local farm store, I had checked for no copper.  I bought minerals…. and again checked for no copper.  But more recently we had picked up feed from a local feed mill… they assured us it was sheep feed.  It said sheep feed.  It had copper in it.  Copper kills sheep! I know this… pretty much anyone who has ever owned a sheep knows this… so how is this feed mill selling poison!?

I feel so sad and so duped.

I just don’t want my dream to fade.

Andy Karras has taken the time to talk me through this terrible incident.    He sells dairy sheep to major farms… here we are just buying one . That is loyalty.. and if you know me… loyalty is practically my love language.  Today she has been eating tons of alfalfa … and drinking molasses tinged water…so hopefully she is getting healthier.   We aren’t out of the woods yet… but she and her baby would have surely died  by now if it weren’t for him and the time he has spent on the phone trying to solve this mystery.

With pages of notes and more hours logged in just sitting with Benita… I have learned a lot.  One thing I have learned is how thankful I am for the one who stops for the one.

a good shepherd is priceless.

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