whendogsattack

I had honestly hoped that I would never have the experience necessary to write
the following page, but, alas...

Having to deal with illness has not been something I have had to become very
acquainted with while raising Icelandic sheep. Yes, we have had our fair share of
accidents, most of them quite bizarre, but the idea of having dogs in the sheep was
one of those things that I had not been losing sleep over. After all, we have electric
fence all around our field and a livestock guard dog who seems up to the task of
fighting off a dog. I suppose though that 2 very large Boxers were a bit more than
he could manage single handed and we had a horrible tragedy waiting for us
when we arrived at the barn on the morning of Feb. 26, 2008. There were 8 ewes
who were scattered all over our pasture and it was like a scene from a MASH
episode. They each had to be carried from the field to the barn, with the worst
injuries having been inflicted on our poor, gentle Eliza Jane.

When the vet arrived at our farm (our first vet call EVER to our farm!) he stood
and looked over the carnage and stated that it looked like a battlefield. After
looking the sheep over, he concluded that he could not do anything without the
sheep being at his office, over 1/2 hour away. We called someone to haul the
sheep to his office where he did his best to patch them up. He later told me that
he decided to just bill me by the hour because he couldn't even keep track of all
the surgery he had performed on which of the sheep. It was such a horrible thing
to witness. After all, these are the same sheep we have loved and cared for over
the years. They are not just livestock to us, but are our friends...friends who trust
us to take care of them and protect them. Anyone who has ever visited our farm
probably knows how attached we are to each of our sheep...and, yes, they are all
named. It's not just a cold, hard business to us.

The next morning, we lost our dear Eliza Jane to her injuries. I had been worried
that she would not survive because her jugular veins were terribly swollen and I
suspect that her back was broken. She died the next morning, in the barn next to
her daughter from last spring, Calamity Jane. They were terribly close, and
Calamity Jane did grieve for several days after this. We do miss Eliza Jane terribly
and there will never be any way to replace her.

It's been over a month since that day and we still are unsure of the fate of 3 of the
other ewes who survived the attack. Clairie, our Blessa granddaughter, is still
down. Both of her front legs are terribly damaged and she gets around by
crawling on her knees. Surprise has some severe damage to her left back leg and
her front right leg. Both of her ears were chewed off. She is still sweet and such a
treasure to have...although she is definitely ready for us to stop giving her pen. g
shots daily! Mazi has a back leg that is so mangled that we doubt that she will
ever be able to breed again naturally, if at all. The bone and tendon are exposed
and the leg just dangles there. We are preparing to use a different, vet approved,
medication this weekend, hoping to save it...but it doesn't look good to say the
least. She is a fighter though, so I am holding out hope for her, although I am just
not sure she will be able to have any lambs in the future. She is bred, but I am
not sure she didn't lose the lamb in all the aftermath of the dog attack. Again,
only time will tell. I think it's probably safe to say that she will never be able to
return to the flock and will need special care for the rest of her life.

At the bottom of this page are some pictures of our wonderful Eliza Jane and the
survivors.

I would go into the details that surround that horrible day, but I must say here
that there are still many very caring, compassionate people in this world. They
are people who will step up and help someone out by going beyond the call and
giving of themselves. Even though this could easily be rated as the single most
horrible day in my life to date, (the dog attack was just the icing to the cake
actually as there were far worse things that happened in our family this same
day) there were many people who showed me that decent people still do exist. I
guess we are not ever given a trial without being given a gem in the midst of it
all...if we can just look beyond all the 'yuck' to see the gift.


When Dogs Attack... Updated 3/27/08




	Although she has recovered from most of her injuries in the dog attack, Deja (left) had a horribly damaged front and back leg both requiring surgery. She has returned to live with the flock and will, hopefully, lamb in April or May. Mazi (on the right) may never be fully recovered, or even able to live with the rest of the flock. She was bred and, if she hasn't lost the lamb, will lamb this spring.


		More pictures to come.