Chilled out Chilli

A friend in need is a friend indeed

Benjamin Franklin

A call from a rescue friend. Could we take in a young sheep, stranded in a regional city pound?

Although out of our catchment area, the rescue local to the pound, has decided to no longer take in any animals. So, unless another rescue stepped in, this young sheep would be sent to the saleyards.

The friend calling has helped us and animals so many times and over many years. When we are able, we do what we can. So, we said yes and opened our yards to another new little one in need. And this little one turned out to be the friend indeed.

In our last post we introduced young Tilly, a friendly boisterous little goat full of the joys of life. In her short time here she has made her mark. One of her first friends was the elderly Giselle. Giselle now lived a slow gentle life as age and infirmity caught up with her. Every day though, Tilly would lay with Giselle in her corner in the sun, avail herself of Giselle’s horns to scratch on, being a lovely friend. Knowing Giselle would be leaving us soon, I felt for young Tilly.

Then Chilli arrived. Within the hour he was introducing himself to everyone, Milly the Border Leicester and through the fence he met Bicci and Lucifer, and then Tilly.

Immediately they hit it off. Within the day they were eating together, chasing each other, playing butting games, while Giselle looked on from her spot in the sun,

Then, soon, the day came for us to make the compassionate decision to help Giselle leave this world. As sad as this was we could take comfort that young Tilly, at the start of her journey, in her time of need, had a friend indeed in young Chilli.

Both safe

New girl Tilly

“So she be but little, she is fierce” Midsummers Night Dream

Some weeks ago I saw posts from locals reporting a goat on the loose in a forested area in the Shire

A lady came home to find the goat in her garden. When she opened the door, the little goat raced in and lay on her bed!

Securing her for the night she posted, certain the goat was a loved pet who would be quickly claimed.

Despite wide sharing in the community noone came forward, and so the goat came into the care of the Shire.

Eight days passed ..nothing..and so it was concluded the little one had been abandoned to her fate.

And so she came to us.

Tilly…. tiny, chubby, fluffy. Full of the joys of life. She is now in charge of the special needs sheep yard, is a sweet companion to the elder Giselle the goat.

On tough days, cold days, hard days, she is a ray of sunshine and makes me break into a smile.

Their loss is our gain.

Pensioner Paul

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four

Paul McCartney

Ever since becoming aware of our new arrival’s story, The Beatle’s song ‘When I’m Sixty Four’, ran in my head. I was not surprised today, as I manoeuvred the horse float into position to collect him, to see the house number ’64’ opposite.

In our district is the stock truck route from the Ballarat Saleyards to the largest abattoir in central Victoria. On certain days of the week, huge B doubles hurtle along the highways, swinging wide on corners, crammed full of sheep. Even as I stepped from my vehicle this afternoon, a truck drove past, with a sheep wildly struggling on the top deck, two thirds of his body protruding up from the sheep surrounding him or her. I could see sheep on their sides, legs protruding as the truck sped past.

Hundreds of sheep being taken to a dreadful death…while we gathered to save the life of just one.

On the weekend I was advised of a social media post regarding a ram who had appeared in a local town. This town is directly on the stock truck route. Emaciated and clearly aged, the ram was marked for death on his back. This dear old soul, having been of commercial use until now, had been loaded on a truck and sent for slaughter.

Although he did not know it his guardian angel now came to his aid. He came off the truck en route …and luckily near people who would care for him until a place of safety could be found. His tags were traced to his breeder, but his subsequent owner did not step forward to claim him. It is likely he had been on sold to the abattoir.

His tags show him to be 11 years old……a good age for a sheep…but he was not allowed to live out his days, instead he was subject to terror and fear.

Thankfully, Paul, as he is now called, instead has come to us. We have him in a shelter at present. He appears in reasonable health, although he needs to gain some weight and strength. All being well, he will have a small operation, so he can join the special needs flock.

A huge thank you to those who took him into care and kept him safe.

Will we still need you? Will we still feed you…..yes, Paul, yes…….

Tears for a friend…Billy the goat

“I saw goats. A party can’t be all bad when you have goats,” Lucy said.”
― Mary Jane Hathaway, Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin’ Cornbread

Recently we were asked if we could assist with a surrendered goat.

Animals are surrendered for many reasons, changes in circumstances, cases of neglect, or that they carer just does not want them. Sometimes the carer initiates the surrender, and at other times a surrender is negotiated to enable to animals to get to a more suitable place.

Some carers are glad to be unburdened of their responsibilities, others are sad and heart broken to lose a friend.

We will always work with a responsible carer to enable them to keep the animal (s) in their care and the animals to stay in their home.

But sometimes it is just not possible, and as large as a person’s heart is, there are at times just not the space or the resources.

When the photo of Billy was sent through my own heart gave a leap…he was just like big Al, one of our resident rescue goats. Al has the best nature, a gentle goat giant. When Al came to us he had cuts in his neck from the collar he had been tethered with. He now has a severely lame front leg, from arthritis in his knee, likely resulting from years of being tightly tethered. Al is however a gentle soul and it looked like he would now have a friend.

Al the goat…a handsome fellow

When Billy arrived, he still had his tether rope on. I do not like tethering but I did note..there was not a mark, not a rub, not a sign, of Billy’s tethering on his neck. He was bright and healthy, agile and well nourished.

I heard how his carer had cried at his leaving, but was relieved he was going to a good home, where he could walk freely and be with other goats.

So the introductions were made and, to our delight, within days Billy and Al were sharing food, sharing their accommodation and clearly best mates !

We thank those who saw Billy needed new options in life and we thank his carer for looking after him, and also having such love for him to put his ongoing welfare above their own loss of a friend…that is true love indeed.

Billy the goat…a new arrival

Drakes in need

Concern yourself more with accepting responsibility than with assigning blame. Let the possibilities inspire you more than the obstacles discourage you.

Ralph Marston

Recently during a discussion with a friend, I was told of three drakes at a local animal shelter.

Asking how they had come to be there I was told they had been surrendered. A local lady had purchased the group when they were young, on the understanding all were ducks (ie female). As they matured it became obvious that the India Runners were all males.

With a flock of ducks it is important to have the right ratio of ducks and drakes. Too few ducks or too many drakes results in the ducks suffering, and sometimes even becoming paralysed or dying, as the result of too much mating by the males.

Luckily for these boys they were at a compassionate shelter with a no-kill policy.

Whilst appreciating that the carer was looking out for the females in her care, I do not believe surrendering the drakes to the shelter was the right, or responsible, action to take. A decision to take an animal into our care comes with responsibilities. To provide, food, water, a safe environment, shelter, companionship, enrichment. And it is a commitment for life.

The drakes can live as a bachelor flock. The previous carer needed to set up a separate area for the drakes from the ducks and all would be happy.

To simply surrender animals to a shelter because they do not ‘suit’, to make the animals the responsibility of another, is irresponsible and selfish. Shelters run on donations, with volunteers and limited resources. There are many many animals without a carer who need the support of a shelter.

Knowing how hard it would be for the shelter to rehome the drakes as a group, we approached another rescue with facilities for the drakes. Luckily they were able to assist and so we drove over to collect the three boys. The shelter attendant had a quick lesson in duck wrangling (never ever attempt to catch them by the leg as their legs can easily break) and soon the boys were being chauffeured in style to their new home.

Lucky ducks indeed.

Lambs are for loving…….

“The Emperor wishes me to send my innocent little lamb to the slaughter. ”
― S.J. Kincaid

According to Jan O’Connell in her blog, ‘The Australian Food History Timeline’, in 2005 in response to declining lamb sales, the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation recruited former Australian Rules footballer and media personality Sam Kekovich to be their “Lambassador“. Ms O’Connell states, ‘ The first 90-second diatribe condemned vegetarians as un-Australian. Annual rants have continued to promote lamb for Australia Day, resulting in a spike in lamb sales in the week leading up to the national holiday. In my youth, Australia Day used to be a pretty tame affair, mainly taken up with naturalisation ceremonies, flag-raising and speeches. There was the odd re-enactment of the arrival of the First Fleet at Port Jackson and, of course, there was a public holiday, but I don’t remember lamb being on the menu.’

Some weeks ago we received a call from a contact located in the west of Victoria. A number of sheep, part of a flock being loaded on a transport destined for the abattoir, were ‘left over’ (ie they could not be squeezed onto the already heavily laden truck). By way of being an inconvenience, their lives were saved. Fortunately there was someone nearby who could take them, and through them, we were contacted. Although we have taken in so many sheep this season, and our paddock feed is drying up…we were their lifeline and so we agreed to give the five young wethers a safe destination.

Transport was not available until this week, and poignantly, as thousands of other young sheep faced fear, terror and slaughter, these five sheep arrived to safety, to live out their natural lives together.

Although fearful after their journey, already they are responding to us (with Weetabix as always our helper), and starting to settle.

Being Australian, being a ‘good’ Australian, does not need us to embrace the slaughter of innocent animals. Our lambs are for loving…….

One lucky sheep

No one gets justice. People only get good luck or bad luck

Orson Welles

‘What about me…arrival number three?’
Sorry, we were getting to you.
Arrival number three for 2018 is the very handsome David. I feel we should have named him Phil…for ‘Lucky Phil’ because he is one very lucky sheep.
Bred, born and raised to be sold for slaughter, all was going to plan. David, with hundreds of his flock, had been rounded up, yarded, and sent to the sale yards. There they were bought by a meat processor for slaughter.
So again, he was rounded up and pushed up the ramps onto the B double truck. His journey would end by being off loaded into the yards at the abattoir, and in the next day or so, pushed through the door to the slaughter floor, where his short life would end, to provide meat.
David got lucky..very very lucky.
The door had not been secured properly. Not long into his final journey, the force of the other hapless sheep pushed David out of the door and onto the highway. There, stunned, he paused as the truck kept driving.
A passing motorist saw what had happened and, being in the line of work that knew what to do, stopped to help the sheep and secure him, contacting authorities to collect him.
He was impounded and traced through his NLIS tag, but no one wanted to claim him. We put in a successful tender …so David now is more than a commodity, he has a name , not just a number. He is loved.
…and the reward…in less than a week after arrival…after all that he has been through…he allowed me to scratch the top of his woolly head tonight, even though he was free to move away.
So welcome David, we are lucky to care for you

Not our usual rescue…

“A kitten is, in the animal world, what a rosebud is in the garden.”
― Robert Sowthey

Arrivals no. 4 and 5 for 2018 are a little different. These two babies, together with another sibling, were discovered on a local property. No mother could be located and sadly, in the heat of last weekend, the third sibling died.

Fearful for the remaining kittens the property owners arranged to trap them. We were asked if we could assist in finding a rescue for them. Sadly, at this time of year, cat rescues are overflowing with kittens so we took these two in. We set them up in a large dog crate with a cat cave to hide in, their food, water and a litter tray.

Kittens always amaze me with their self sufficiency when the right conditions are in place. The food was polished off and there was evidence that the litter tray was welcomed :).

Luckily, I knew of a local family who had recently set about to rescue a mother cat and kittens they had found on a vacant property, but sadly were unable to re locate them to trap. So I contacted them to ask if they would consider taking in these babies. They are experienced with kittens and it is an excellent home so I was thrilled when they agreed to foster…with a planned ‘foster fail’

So these two little ones were transported to their new home in situ in their crate and now are undergoing socialisation after time to adjust to their traumatic last few days.

When appropriate, all vet work will be done including de sexing and microchipping. We look forward to updates.

It takes a village…..

It takes a village to raise a child

Source unknown

On September 5 I saw a post on a local community Facebook page regarding a group of goats who were frequenting a local property. The property owner had posted asking if anyone knew the carer of the goats as they were roaming the neighbourhood, causing damage.

After suggesting the local Shire be contacted, I sent a private message to find out what was happening, as no one had claimed the goats.

The property owner was frustrated at the damage to their garden but did not want the goats to come to any harm, so I suggested I bring over some panels to try to secure the goats and take it from there. Thus started a three month journey…….

I dropped off the panels but at that stage realised the enormity of the challenge. This was in a local area I had not previously visited. A gorge, bushland, ravines…

Then the ‘owner’ of the goats became known. A relatively new property owner, a largely absent property owner, had decided to purchase five goats, but did not make provision for them to be contained. In the area is a herd of abandoned goats. Before long the five goats were lured into the wilds…and so the problem began.

Roaming far and wide across impenetrable terrain, the goats visited olive groves, vegetable gardens, and caused angst amongst the land holders. They did however regularly return to their ‘home’ but because the fencing was inadequate, sooner or later they were on the prowl again.

We were given permission to take the goats, if we could secure them….

So a rescue began……

It is all very well to take on animals, but you need to know where they will go to be safe for life. We have a large property and our goats are happy here…but they are the type of goats who hang around. We could not risk letting these goats roam again, and our secure yards are already occupied, A call for help was answered, and a deal struck. We would take in five rescued sheep from another rescue to join our flock, in exchange for them providing 5-star goat accommodation in their existing secure enclosures.

Then I received a call. The owner of the goats was planning to shoot the goats. Not only was this a cruel and unnecessary outcome, unless a goat was killed immediately it would run off to die an horrific death in the bush. Getting the goats was now critical.

The goats had returned to base and I was advised, contained in a yard. So I headed off with the horse float to collect them…….

When I arrived it was apparent the yards were not secure. We tried our best in the circumstances but to no avail…and the end result was the goats headed bush again

Another call that the goats were back…but this time when we arrived and they were running loose in a 100 acre paddock.

We were then advised that the goats were back at the neighbours. So we set up an appealing ‘goat retreat’ in their shelter with straw bedding, water and feed, hoping they would decide to make it their base. Our plan was to set up a feeding station in a secure yard, and use this to capture the goats.

We heard nothing for a number of weeks, weeks where we were busy with incoming rescues. When we next made contact we found out the goats were still roaming and the neighbourhood was up in arms. The owner still refused to do anything but get a shooter in.

We had already discussed options with other rescues skilled in goat recovery. With time running out and the logistics being so tricky it became clear that there was now only one viable option….the expertise of Manfred, from Five Freedoms Animal Rescue.

It is a huge ask to dart and capture five goats. With any shot being fired the rest will disperse, and this was impossible terrain. Wild, steep, bushland going for miles, with nothing to contain the goats.

The neighbour agreed to coordinate with the representative of the goat’s owner and the neighbourhood to allow us time. They also agreed to coordinate directly with Manfred on the goats’ whereabouts. We were pulling this together when a friend sent me a Facebook post that was being circulated.

‘Free to good home 5 lovely whipper/snippers (goats), they are for the chop If nobody takes them’

It was late at night when I opened the message and saw with horror the five goats, with comments on the post about how wonderful they would be in various meat dishes.

Several frantic messages and texts later, Manfred rearranged a full schedule to get to the farm. The owner was contacted to agree that the property be accessed.

Amazingly, and totally to the credit of Manfred, four of the five goats were successfully darted and captured…..this was incredible given the situation where the goats could not be contained. The four were transported to a new home.

We were so happy…but each and every one of us could only think about the last goat, who had run off before she could be darted. Manfred, so professional and so compassionate, would not rest until the fifth goat was brought in.

The two days later I received a message. The fifth goat had appeared. Manfred went back and darted her…but the dart glanced off and she took to the bush. Manfred, Helen and everyone searched through thick bush terrain for hours but she could not be found.

Holding onto hope we waited….

Then on Sunday morning, another message. The goat had reappeared, seeking comfort from the resident alpacas. Once again Manfred drove to the farm. We waited for news. Then I received a message…could I head to the farm, help was needed.

By the time I got there Manfred had secured her. Climbing again through the horrific terrain was about to return, desperate that the goat again had got away when he spotted a ‘strange looking rock’….

Getting her back was a heroic task but he did it…Safely contained…the fifth goat….hardly to be believed.

Within an hour all five were reunited, now safe forever.

Sadly the owner has no interest in contributing to the cost of securing the goats, no interest in their welfare, no interest in even making contact to say a thank you.

Please, only ever bring animals into your life if you are willing and able to take full responsibility to care for them and protect them from harm, and this includes making sure they are not causing disruption to others.

It takes a village…not only to raise a child, it takes community of rescuers, it takes people like the neighbours in this case, who wanted the best outcome for the goats, who were willing to do whatever it took…it takes this to do right.

Our sincere thanks to those who cared, the compassionate neighbours, willing to give practical support and help, to Pam from Edgars Mission who offered advice and support, to Jason for coming out to try and get the goats in, to Anne from Horse Shepherd for providing a safe haven, and to Manfred and Helen, for their compassion, skill and boundless determination, for making it possible.

It takes a village…………………

George’s horses – A tribute to Jackie

For the story so far please read Georges’ horses – Part One

One of the horses to arrive from George was Jackie. A lovely black TB mare. Jackie was aged but in good condition and, a horse with the most beautiful nature.

Soon after Jackie’s arrival we took in a filly, Rosie straight from the slaughter yard, where she had waited for two weeks for slaughter. Luckily, her fate changed and Rosie came to us. See Rosie’s story at The secret hidden in the Rose.

Rosie needed love. lots of love. She needed someone to give her confidence and a feeling of safety, someone to heal her soul.

And in the paddock was Jackie. Jackie immediately adopted Rosie. She would share her food bucket, gently encouraged Rosie to mutually groom, watched over Rosie.

With more horses arriving I knew I had to rehome Jackie as she was in good health and with an ideal temperament. But I could not deprive Rosie of her surrogate mother and guide.

So I put Jackie up for adoption, with the proviso that Jackie and Rosie be homed together. A friend was looking for a safe riding horse (gentle occasional riding!) and Jackie fitted the bill. She was happy to adopt Rosie as well. This was an experienced, loving and caring home and so, as hard as it was to part with them both, we were so glad that such a great home was offered.

The years passed. Rosie has matured and able to live with other horses happily. Jackie looked after the young horses, always the mentor, always the guide, always giving comfort and confidence. Then she became the companion of an aged standard bred, and just recently all moved to a property even closer to us. Jackie never was ridden again, she just had a life of leisure.

So every day I could see Jackie as I drove past, peacefully grazing with Johnny, her friend. I knew, however, that her health was starting to fail. I was always updated though and she was receiving every care. Jackie would rally but clearly age was catching up.

A few weeks ago Johnny peacefully passed. Jackie grieved and her health faltered. She had a new companion, was moved close to the house, fed, rugged, tested and loved….but we all knew it was just a matter of time.

Last night, comfortable and pain free, Jackie passed, to be with Johnny and to meet back up with George, Twinkie, Call Me Misty, My Misty, Rachael (the Filly), and all her other friends.

Bless you Jackie and thank you to Nat who loved and cared for Jackie in her final years.

Jackie will be buried at her home. Nat has chosen a lovely spot that overlooks our property.

Vale Jackie

Honey's Pledge

a project for compassion

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