Gone but not forgotten
The ones we've loved and lost....
JULIUS
This beautiful boy showed up at our back door in Nova Scotia in 2000. He never left. We suspect he was the kitten of one of the cats abandoned by our neighbours after they moved away. For a while, Julius was being fed by another family as well. duping them into thinking he had no home. He was the smartest cat we've ever had.
Julius was a beautiful boy who will always be in our hearts. He lived in four provinces and crossed Canada twice in our car, and never complained once about his journeys. We lost Julius on November 16, 2015 to kidney failure, when he was about 16 years old. We love you, Julius.
MOOTIE
We adopted Mootie along with her friend Pip in October 2014 (see Pip's story!) Mootie had a difficult life. At one point she languished in an animal shelter for year, labelled "unadoptable," until her kind former owner took a chance on her. It turned out that Mootie did not want to be touched because she was in pain from a mouthful of bad teeth and diseased gums. The woman who adopted her (and Pip) took Mootie to the vet, where she had all her teeth removed. Cue complete change in personality!
In 2015, we took Mootie to the vet for a hernia repair, where it was discovered that all the internal stitches from her spay (done years back) had failed at some point. So the contents of her abdomen were essentially being held in by her skin! Our vet repaired that and Mootie healed up perfectly.
Mootie adored attention and was a pest about cuddles. She constantly demanded to sit in your lap, and lovednothing more than to walk across your chest to block the book you were trying to read in bed. She was the happiest cat in the world, and like Louise, drooled to express her gratitude for being cuddled. She would also unapologetically knead your flesh with her pointy little claws.
Mootie was born sometime in September 2006. We lost her to cancer of the larynx on July 23, 2018. This special cat will not be forgotten. RIP darling Mootie.
LIONEL
In September 2014, we adopted Lionel along with his friend Missy, from friends who thought their barn was inadequate shelter for the cats in winter.
Sadly, Lionel was only with us for 13 brief days before he succumbed to toxoplasmosis on October 5th, 2014, despite valiant attempts by our vet to save him. He will never be forgotten. A wonderful, sensitive, affectionate cat with a beautiful chirpy purr.
TRISTAN
Our "Vizsladorable" born in 2002. He was a Lab/Vizsla cross who came to the farm with his buddy Sophie in 2007. We adopted the pair of them after a tragic incident in the family meant their owners could no longer keep them.
We sent Tristan off to be with his buddy Sophie on October 4, 2016 at the ripe old age of 14, but he will always be part of the farm. He and Sophie are now buried in our woodlot, where they had countless happy walks.
Back in the day, Tristan was an expert at being skunked. In one record-breaking summer, he was sprayed at least seven times.
NINJA
On March 23, 2017, we welcomed Ninja and his sister Cindy to the goat herd. They were a lovely pair of Pygmy-Nubian crosses born in 2014. Sadly, we lost Ninja unexpectedly a few months later. He was quite protective of his sister, friendly and sweet. One afternoon, we found Ninja lying on his side in the goat house. He left us for pastures on the other side. He was a good goat and is very missed.
WILLA
Willa came to the farm on January 25, 2020. A kind lady named Thelma had been feeding this stray girl in her garage, She asked if I would take her in, and we were happy to! Willa is quite shy – perhaps not quite feral, but life as a barn cat seems to suit her well. She is becoming braver as time goes on, and now comes when she is called, and will meow back when we talk to her. She is a beautiful Torbie girl with a sweet little face and a gentle manner. She loves to hang out with her buddy Snickers, and patrol the barn for vermin!
Sadly, Willa disappeared in the summer of 2020, and although we searched extensively for her, we never found her. Her sweet spirit will not be forgotten.
ESME
We adopted Esme with her friend Finney on November 12, 2014. They are so closely bonded, I decided to put in this photo of Esme with her boyfriend. Esme was born in 2002 and is blind in her left eye due to chronic recurring uveitis. She is also prone to founder/laminitis and had foundered many times before we adopted her (and a couple of times since, despite our work with the vet and a horse dietician to get her problems sorted out.)
Touch wood, she is doing much better these days. She copes fine with her limited eyesight and is a sweet, well-behaved paint pony with an endearing nicker. Her manners are impeccable, and we could not love her more. She has been through more in her life than any animal should have to deal with. And she has the softest muzzle ever!
On December 3, 2020, Esme passed over to the great pasture in the sky. We miss her so very much, as does her soulmate Saul the donkey.
(Photo by Deborah Wilson Photography)
ANNABELLE
Annabelle is one of Penny's triplets born on January 9, 2016. She is the image of her maa-maa, except she has two brown front legs in front of one brown and one white like Penny. She is very outgoing and loves to nuzzle and greet visitors. When she was little, we thought it was adorable when she jumped up and put her front feet on us. Of course she's still doing it now that she's almost as big as her maa-maa! Still cute, now with extra impact.
Annabelle enjoys nibble hair and sampling the brims of expensive cowboy hats
Sadly, Annabelle passed away on April 22, 2021. A necropsy revealed that her lungs were full of lesions caused by the caseous lymphadenitis she contracted for her maa-maa. She was such a friendly, affectionate, inquisitive girl, and a star of goat and barnyard yoga. She will be missed.
ROSIE
Our miracle kid, Rosie is one of Penny's triplets born on January 9, 2016. She nearly died soon after she was born, as we didn't realize quickly enough that Penny wasn't producing adequate milk for the three kids. We managed to raise Rosie's body temperature by putting her in a garbage bag, securing it around her neck, and carefully immersing her in a kitchen sink full of very warm water. Then we swaddled her limp body in blankets and left her in a warm bathroom, fully expecting to come back from the barn to find a corpse. Instead we returned to a wide-eyed kid looking for a meal.
Rosie and her siblings were all bottle-fed milk replacer as well as drinking off their mama, to ensure they got enough to eat. Penny was in poor shape when we arrived at our farm pregnant. It's amazing she produced these three beautiful kids!
Rosie is named after a local goat-keeper who came over on a moment's notice to help us save her life. We are forever grateful for her help in saving little Miss Rosie.
Rosie struggled with arthritic front knees and caseous lymphadenitis for many years, and on October 12, 2021, we had to make the difficult decision to euthanize this special girl. She will never be forgotten.
KWAZII
This amazing boy was with us for a relatively short time, but he left a huge pawprint on the farm.
Kwazii was initially taken in by my friend Liz of Furr Get Me Not Cat Haven. He was an absolute wreck: matted, dirty fur, a bad upper respiratory infection, and dirty infected ears, one of which was permanently crumpled. He also had chronic, horrible diarrhea., and horrible teeth. On top of that, it turned out Kwazii was FIV+.
In August 2018, I took Kwazii to my vet, and we started to work on getting him into better shape. We had him neutered, and a dental was done, relieving him of his constant mouth pain.
In early 2019, my vet was determined to figure out why we could not resolve Kwazii’s diarrhea. We made the decision to go ahead with an intestinal biopsy, with the hopes of improving Kwazii’s quality of life. It turned out he had intestinal lymphoma. He was put on chemo, which he tolerated amazingly well. Over time, he was transformed from a skeletal cat with a rough coat, to the beautiful fluffy boy you see in the photo above.
Kwazii had a least six solid months of awesome living before the lymphoma began to take over. Although many cats (like our tripod kitty Alex!) can live a long time with a slow-moving cancer like this, Kwazii’s immune system was weakened by his FIV status. On September 5th, 2019, we made the difficult decision to put Kwazii to sleep.
He was only five years old, but he made a lot of people happy while he was here, and had his own little fan club. His life was truly difficult, but it never affected his sweet, affectionate nature. Nothing seemed to faze him. He was a superstar of a feline, and it was incredibly hard to lose him. You will never be forgotten, Kwazii.
CHIRP
We lost this unique and amazing rooster on August 29, 2022. He was about seven years old. Chirp had a distinguished career as therapy rooster visiting seniors’ residences. He was happy to sit in anyone’s lap for as long as they liked. It seems like at every visit, he would find the senior who needed him, settle in, and work his magic. I will never forget one visit where Chirp found his person, and she began to chat happily to him and the people around here. An astonished staff member told me this lady had not spoken more than a few words in a very long time. Somehow, Chirp brought the light back to her eyes.
Our rooster Bonbon is training as Chirp’s replacement, but he has very big feathers to fill.
Here’s to a wonderful chicken who brought joy to so many people!
LLOYD
We lost this cutie pie on January 22, 2023. He had suffered from caseous lymphadenitis for some time, and it finally got into his lungs.
Lloyd arrived from Rimouski, Quebec with his friends Olive and Lillian on December 5, 2017. They were in a bad situation and needed a better place to live. Lloyd was a nice, easy-going guy with an impressive set of horns. He had a lovely silky beard, too. He looked exactly like a miniature version of our dearly-departed goat Harry! Lloyd was not fond of our Maremma Monty, but he tolerated him because he realized Monty wass in fact preferable to a coyote.
EMMELINE
This wily gal was born to Bambi along with her brother Pierre on March 21, 2016. She has a "lightning bolt" on her forehead, and has been know to move at the speed of that meteorological phenomenon. She also had a heart on her back. She has caused bloody knees and muddy faces for those who hit the ground while trying to round her up for a veterinary visit.
Sadly, we lost Emmeline on December 26, 2022. She was a special and beautiful goat.
SOPHIE
We adopted Sophie along with her buddy Tristan in November 2007, after their owner died in tragic circumstances. She was a wonderful 99% Labrador Retriever with a keen mind and a beautiful personality. She was born on a farm and lived on a farm until the day she died, as it should be.
Every morning, including the last day of her life, Sophie waited patiently for Natalie to give her the crust from her toast. She had extraordinarily gorgeous blonde eyelashes fringing her big brown eyes. How could you say "NO!" to such a face?
Our dear Sophie left us in April 2014 after being diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in her liver. She was already bleeding out from the ruptured tumour when we took her to the vet, where we said our good-byes.
Sophie was a huge part of our life for almost seven years. We think she's still keeping an eye on us all from somewhere out there. The farm is not the same without her.
NAOMI
She showed up at our back door late one night in September 2008. She was a tiny kitten who became a tiny perfect cat. That night, I was lying in bed reading when she heard a kitten crying outside. I ran downstairs, and Naomi charged across the driveway straight to me, hungry, skinny and crying for attention.
Naomi was always Alex's one true love, and he felt the same way about her. Her sweetness filled a room. She also disproved ll that nonsense about Torties having attitude! She was a little love bug who never gave us any trouble.
My heart-kitty Naomi passed away suddenly at home on December 21, 2021 at the age of 12. She will be forever missed by us. Her beloved Alex joined her in 2023.
ALEX
Born in 2007, Alex was adopted from the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry OSPCA in the fall of that year. He had three legs, because some idiot put out a leghold trap in the city of Cornwall and Alex wandered into it. A kind soul rescued Alex and brought him to the OSPCA, where his maggot-infested rear left leg was amputated. He sucked us in six weeks later. His very favourite sleeping place was the upstairs bath mat.
Nothing fazed Alex, but then most things seem trivial compared to the suffering he endured in that trap.
Alex's one true love was always Naomi. He took her under his wing when she arrived in 2008 and their love affair continued until we lost her in December 2021. Alex joined her in kitty heaven on September 27, 2023. After dealing with intestinal lymphoma for three years, he was ready to rest, making it to the amazing age of almost 17.
LENNY
We adopted Lenny through the OSPCA in December 2014. He was a blind, 27-year-old(!) farm mallard, previously owned by an elderly farmer and his wife who had to give him up due to illness in the family. We were told that Lenny liked a banana in the morning, layer mash in the day, and some lettuce at bedtime. We did our best to oblige him.
In winter, we sometimes brought Lenny into the house for a swim in the bathtub. Afterwards, he enjoyed being blow-dried (you can read more about that and watch a video here.)
Lenny left this world peacefully in September 2015. We wish he'd had more time with us, but he had a very long and happy ducky life.
PENELOPE aka PENNY (with her triplets Annabelle, Joe and Rosie)
This goat was truly a star, and we miss her every day. She and her five goat buddies were seized from what someone described to me as a "hellhole," and Penny was definitely in the worst physical shape of all the goats (underweight and worm-infested.)
On top of that, Penny was pregnant with triplets when she arrived, and after she gave birth in January, she became quite ill with diarrhea and anemia. But she was a real fighter, and bounced back to raise three of the most adorable goat kids you can imagine. They were partially bottle-fed because Penny didn't have enough milk to sustain them. We kept a close eye on Penny, who had a peaceful, gentle nature, and weathered her misfortunes with caprine grace. She was named after our wonderful human friend Penny.
Sadly, Penny was in poor health through most of 2017, and on August 29th, we made the decision to euthanize her to spare her further suffering. She was a goat to remember!
HENRY
A truly awesome pig, Henry was born in 2010. He was previously living in an apartment in Cornwall (like Jersey!) He used to sleep in between his owners in their bed. When they split up, the husband couldn't take Henry to live with him due to by-laws in the city he was moving to, and the wife didn't want him, so Henry was surrendered to the OSPCA shelter in Cornwall.
Of all the pigs, Henry had the hardest time adjusting to living here. Pigs get very attached to their owners, and are smart, sensitive creatures. After five years, Henry suddenly had to go from living in an apartment to living with a bunch of other pigs. It would have been nice if he could been adopted out as a house pig, but no one but else would take him. This is not surprising given the endless supply of unwanted pet pigs in this country.
After he arrived, Henry was depressed for months, as much as we tried to make him happy. But finally the darkness lifted, and he befriended Rudy the boss pig. Henry was soon thrilled with life and slimmed down nicely (he was overweight with overgrown hooves when he arrived.) He is a perfect example of why you should consider the long-term needs of a pig if you think you need one as a pet. He loved to spend his days grazing, sunning himself, soaking in his piggy pool, and hanging out with his piggy pals, our Maremma dog Monty, and our cat Emerson.
Sadly, Henry died in his sleep in June 2019. We miss his happy presence in the pig pen.
RICHARD & CARLTON
These two twits are Richard and Carlton the Narragansett turkey boys. They arrived via the SD&G OSPCA on March 9, 2014. Their former owner kept snakes to which he fed turkey chicks, but for some reason, he got attached to these two and let them grow into magnificent turkeyhood.
However, the turkeys took to running around the Cornwall, Ontario neighbourhood they lived in and flying up on people's roofs. And since turkeys perhaps aren't the best city pets, their owner kindly brought them to the OSPCA, where the staff have us on speed dial under the label "SUCKERS." We took in these two terrible Toms and we quite like them, but most of the people who help us with barn chores here would like to see Richard & Carlton on the Thanksgiving dinner table (not gonna happen!) They do have a rather annoying habit of sneaking up behind you and pecking the backs of your knees, which is particularly unpleasant if you are wearing shorts.
Once in a while they go all "Sean Penn," but really they are a pair of feathered pussycats. I think it's completely unreasonable to arm yourself against them with a self-defensive shovel, as our barn helper Kim does! Don't worry, she doesn't whack them with the shovel, just uses it to push them back from her when they are being annoying, as opposed Jackie, another barn helper who actually cuddles these two fools.
Sadly, Richard went on to that great turkey graveyard in the sky in early 2018, and Carlton joined him in 2020.
BAMBI (with her twins Pierre & Emmeline, born in 2016)
Bambi got her name while in foster care, and it stuck. She has gorgeous big brown eyes and a thick fawn-coloured coat. She is a robust Nubian with excellent mothering skills and a bountiful supply of milk. She was not disbudded properly and so has scurs (deformed horn remnants) that need to be trimmed once or twice a year by the vet so they don't grow into her skull.
Bambi always looks pregnant, even when she isn't. When Bert the orphaned Alpine kid needed a surrogate mama for milk, If we offered her a bowl of feed and held her collar, Bambi would let the little guy nurse off her without kicking him in the head, which is more than I can say for Genny.
We lost Bambi on December 14, 2021. She is very missed.
SCARLETT
This precious girl was under my care for over a year, as we tried to help her heal from a horrendous, entrenched case of calicivirus. She was fostered by friends for a while, but spent the last couple of months of her life here with us in our spare bedroom, getting all the love we could give her. Scarlett and I watched the whole first season of Bridgerton together!
Because of the condition of her mouth (ulcers and sores due to calicivirus), she wasn’t able to groom herself, so I brushed her every day to keep her looking her best. She LOVED to be brushed! She was the sweetest Tortie you could ever imagine, and it absolutely broke my heart that we couldn’t save her. Ultimately, we decided to end her suffering after exhausting all treatment options, and she was euthanized on February 8th, 2021. She was the most special cat, and only three years old. She will forever live in our hearts.
JULIET & ROMEO
This pair arrived in July 2016 too! They are a sweet pair of Runner/Pekin duck crosses who needed a forever home. So here they are. They are definitely the smallest of our ducks, and very cute.Juliet is loyal, but Romeo is a total player. However, when he tries it on with the Muscovy girls, they send this obnoxious little suitor packing.
Sadly, Romeo shuffled off this mortal coil in 2020. Juliet joined him on the eternal duck pond in 2022.
JOE
Joe was one of Penny's triplets born on January 9, 2016. He and his two sisters were partially bottle-fed and are all super-sweet and friendly. Joe has a gorgeous face with a big white blaze. He is laid-back and quiet, and likes to hang around with his sisters Rosie and Annabelle. He is an excellent big brother and keeps an eye out for his sisters. He was named after our amazing barn helper Joseanne, who has never lets us down.
We lost Joe on August 1, 2022. I hope he is now romping with his sister Rosie and Annabelle, and mother Penny in some paradise of a pasture. Caseous lymphadenitis took them all.
LARRY
Larry arrived at the farm on August 2, 2020. He used to be a feral cat, neutered in a trap-neuter-release program (this is why the tip of his left ear is missing!) His former caretaker looked after him outdoors for many years, but she was moving to the city and was concerned Larry would not be safe there. So Larry came here! But when we took him in for his vaccines, we discovered that Larry had stage 2 kidney disease, and is also so sensitive to anaesthesia, he can barely tolerate any kind of sedation.
Although the vet twice attempted to give Larry the dental he needs, he had to be brought around before any major work could be done, because his life was at risk from the sedation. Which is to say, Larry is a bit of a delicate flower! He is also an absolutely lovely cat who adores other kitties and love his barn pals. He’ll permit you to pet him will he is eating, but if you don’t hand over treats quickly enough, you’ll get a slap from his big paw! He is great about taking his kidney meds in his food and is just the most handsome, happy, mellow guy, quite content to hang around the garden.
Larry disappeared on September 29, 2022. We will never stop looking for him, and he is always in our hearts.
JACKIE & BARNEY
In July 2016, we also adopted Jackie the Pekin duck and her boyfriend Barney. They are two tame ducks who were wandering the streets of nearby Williamstown. The residents were worried about them and were afraid they were going to get run over, so they now live here.
Sadly, Jackie passed away in the summer of 2017. After a brief period of mourning, Barney went on to pursue new feathered girlfriends, but joined Jackie in eternal rest in 2022.
KEATON
Keaton, aka Catman, was born sometime in 2013. He showed up at our farm in July 2015, looking hungry and wary. I started putting food out for him, but it took a long time before he would even let us stick around while he ate.
The rule around here is that kitties who show up get to stay, but no one gets to keep his nuts! So we live-trapped this boy and had him fixed and vaccinated. He became super affectionate and friendly and was an excellent barn cat, so very chatty with a deep, funny meow. He also purred more, and more loudly, than any cat we've ever known. His purr was musical and sounds a bit like a babbling brook. He was big boy with a big heart, and he loved to be loved. He gave the best hugs. He also learned to be polite with the other cats instead of slapping them out of his way as he charges the food bowl.
Keaton broke our hearts when he died on October 2, 2018 at the far-too-young age of five. He has a huge tumour wrapped around his kidney, and there was nothing to be done. He was the meeter-greeter and mascot of our farm, and will be forever missed. Truly the King of Cats.
CHARLOTTE
Charlotte was the last surviving hen from our first batch of chickens, obtained from a hatchery in July 2009. She shuffled off this mortal coil in February 2015 at the age of 5-1/2. She was an excellent shoulder chicken and a sort of unofficial mascot for our local OSPCA, where she made appearances at the annual "Pet Pics with Santa" event and never once pooped on Santa's lap. In the last summer of her life, she became broody for the first time ever and hatched out three beautiful chicks from some eggs of dubious parentage. When Charlotte turned 5, we threw a birthday party for her, which you can read about here. Her babies live on at Bee Meadow Farm.
HONEY
We adopted Honey the Saxony duck along with her boyfriend George in February 2015. Sadly, Honey passed away in her sleep in the summer of 2016. George grieved for ten minutes, then went all lounge-lizard on the Muscovy girls. Honey was a pretty duck who is missed by us all (well, we're not too sure about George!)
MILLICENT
This sweetheart of a cat loved to stick her tongue out and drool when you pet her. Millicent was abandoned at a nearby farm when her elderly owner was sent to a nursing home. Sometime after that, another neighbour noticed a starving cat at the empty property and began feeding her. Over the next three months, this woman (a senior citizen herself) fattened Millicent up nicely, but she couldn't offer her a home, so she asked a mutual friend of ours if Gordon and I would take Millicent as a barn cat. She kindly offered to pay for her spay surgery as well. So now Millicent moved in.
She was very shy but she was also very affectionate, and loved to be cuddled. After a few months, she began to come out of her shell and blossom, but when humans have left you to starve, it takes a while to trust them again. We couldn't have been happier having Millicent with us. She was born sometime in 2015 and that mark on her forehead is a patch of grey, not dirt. We adopted Millicent on September 9, 2016. In 2017, she was diagnosed with an inoperable malignant abdominal tumour, and on September 24, 2017, we had her put to sleep. She was only three years old and was cruelly taken from us to soon. We will never forget this special little cat.
STEPHAN and AMANDA
In October 2014, we adopted two Coturnix Quail from the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry OSPCA. A lady walking in a park in Cornwall saw some moron trying to feed these birds to a dog! She rescued them and turned them into the OSPCA. We then added five more girls to the flock, because Stephan needed to, er, spread his love around so as not to wear the girls out! All the quails were named after OSPCA workers/volunteers: Stephan (for Stephanie), Amanda, Christina, Chantal, Ashley, Melina, and Julie (there are two Julies at the shelter. One has a chicken named after her, the other a quail.) After long quail lives (6+ years!) the entire flock has now gone to quail heaven.
KIKI
In May 2016, we adopted this male Muscovy duck who needed a home with other ducks. He previously was the mascot of a riding stable, but they felt he'd be happier with some duck friends of his own. So far, so good! This pecking ninja loves to sneak up on unsuspecting humans to give them a taste of his magnificent beak. He has left his mark on us all.
Kiki passed away in his sleep in 2021.
DAPHNE
This exquisite specimen of goat loveliness is Daphne. She is a "dappled" goat, mostly Boer. She has somehow risen to the top of the herd to claim the spot of "herd queen." Mess with Daphne and you'll get a head-butt. She is smart, pretty and strong. Definitely our flashiest goat! She is also incredibly crafty. Once when the vet was here to see her, she waited until we were all busy chatting, then put her head down and bolted out the door of the granary to sweet (but temporary) freedom, ripping her lead rope from my hands. If you think you can outsmart a goat, Daphne will make you think twice.
She can most often be found at the top of Goat Mountain, oozing superiority over her minions.
Daphne died in her sleep on October 8, 2019. She was the most beautiful goat you could imagine.
KEVIN
Kevin was one of six goats we adopted through the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry OSPCA on August 31, 2015. He is the boss man of the herd, and probably father to most of the goat kids we have! Sadly for Kevin, his manhood was stolen from him in December 2015 when we had him and Geoff neutered. The only male on this farm who gets to keep his nuts is Gordon! On the upside, Kevin and Geoff smell waaaay better than they used to. Neutering took away most of their bucky tang.
Kevin is a benevolent leader who likes to be scratched on top of his head, right between the horns. He is an exceedingly handsome Boer goat who is always watching out for his herd.
Kevin is named after my godfather, my Uncle Kevin, who fortunately has a sense of humour.
Sadly, Kevin passed away on September 30, 2021. He will be forever missed!
LILLIAN
Lillian arrived from Rimouski, Quebec with her friends Olive and Lloyd on December 5, 2017. She is a real beauty! We thought she might be pregnant when she arrived, but apparently she just has a beaudacious figure. Lillian loves to eat Christmas trees. She is also a fan of neck-scratched. She enjoys hanging out with her buddy Lloyd. She thinks our Maremma Monty is the devil incarnate.
We lost this beautiful girl suddenly on December 19, 2021. It’s not the same without her here.
AMY
This lovely Swan goose came to the farm with her boyfriend Shedlong in October 2021. They were seen swimming on the Ottawa River, clearly an escape or release from a farm. A caring couple finally managed to catch the goose, and brought them to the farm. Sadly, Amy came down with botulism soon after, and we had her humanely euthanized. She is missed!
BETTY WOBBLES
This little beauty came to us on January 16, 2022 from Amherst Island. Betty is a Rideau Arcott/Suffolk cross sheep. She developed mobility issues when she was 7 months old, suddenly unable to walk, like because of PEM (sheep polio.) Since then, she has been in rehab, and we work with her daily to keep her muscles in shape. Our friend Sophie, who is certified in animal rehab, does great work with Betty.
Betty’s a very quiet, gentle girl with a lovely nature. Her favourite thing to do is to snack on hay with her good friends.
This little sweetheart passed unexpectedly on July 13. 2022, after being treated for bloat. She was a one-of-a-kind sheep who will never be forgotten.
SNICKERS
Snickers came to the farm in June 2019 when he was three years old. He had been peeing inappropriately in his owners’ house, and after trying to solve the problem repeatedly with no success, they asked us to take him in as a barn cat, as an alternative to euthanasia.
We are so glad we did! Snicky is now KING OF THE BARN, with an
attitude to match. He reigns over his minions mostly with kindness, once they learn to submit to his rule. He is a fan of the ladies, and takes good care of his girlfriends Missy and Willa. He is a sweet and
endearing guy with a flashy white tail tip that practically glows in
the dark. He enjoys rolling in the dirt, eating, and snuggles.
Snicker disappeared on August 29, 2021. We have no idea what happened to him; he never wandered from the barn. We looked for him for weeks but could not find him anywhere. I still hope against hope that he is safe somewhere; he does have a microchip! But his disappearance was one of the most heartbreaking things to happen at the farm, and I still can’t look at his picture without crying. We love you, Snickers. Wherever you are, I hope it’s as wonderful as you were.
WINNIFRED
This little sweetheart died far too young on December 27, 2022. She became ill on the 26th and was rushed to the emergency vet, but sadly died the next day. We don’t know for sure what happened, but the vet thought it was something serious as she had no response at all to emergency intervention.
This cute little bun came to the farm on August 14, 2021. Initially we thought she’d be a friend from our rabbit Bun E. Carlos, but Winnifred instead fell in love with Albus the Flemish Giant cross, and she has never looked back. She’s a sweet cuddly bun who visits seniors’ residences with us. She loves to sit on your lap and be cuddled! We adopted Winnifred from the SD&G OSPCA.
SHELRU
We took this little cutie in on August 22, 2022. He had back-end mobility issues that we hoped would improve, and to that end, our friend Sophie of Playbow Animal Rehabilitation Clinic worked diligently to try to make him as mobile as possible. He did very well in a set of Walkin’ Wheels, but sadly, Shelru died in his sleep on September 24, 2022. He was an adorable little lamb, and although his time here was brief, he left a lasting impression on all of us.