My heart aches for the lamb Jenna Woginrich from Cold Antler Farm 'lost'.
Found immobile on 11/2 and brought inside a warm home for 2 days...after no vet care and slow recovery (if any?) put back outside with the flock. If no recovery was seen, why put a down animal back where it was pulled from for being down?
"I have a weak little ram lamb that has been down since Saturday morning when I found him near the water trough. He was brought inside to be inspected, medicated, and observed constantly - so I made him a lay-lined bed in the dog crate right in the living room. He spent two days inside and showed slow recovery, if any. It was confusing because when most sheep go down like this they either die or are back on their feet in under 36 hours. Not this little guy. ProPen and electrolytes weren't helping, but his body seemed unable to walk and stiff. I decided it was most likely White Muscle and gave him a shot of selenium. He was also drenched for worms... I'll check on him in a bit, as I hope that will do the trick. I can not call the vet, as its simply too expensive right now to even consider for the cost of the lamb. So I am trusting my own experience and care, time, and a little prayer."
3 weeks later, on 11/20 he is still immobile and not able to walk, Jenna worries about his fate.
"The lamb is still unable to walk, but eating and drinking well. He seems mentally sound, just as if his spin stopped working. I'm talking it over with some small livestock neighbors, friends and farmers but I may have to put him down. I won't until I talk with a veterinarian and several friends, but I worry about it."
On Monday November 25th she found him dead. Based on her post of having to bring the body down a hill it appears he was put back out with the flock.
I don't know her property layout personally, but I believe that means he was in a run in shed...immobile for over 3 weeks. Letting him in a warm house to be put back outside, not able to move to a sun spot or get in close proximity to other sheep, I imagine he experienced a long slow cold death never even being seen by a vet.
From the 2nd to 23rd time, money, and energy was spent on hunting deer (how often does she even target shoot for practice?), hunting hawks (endless hours and GAS...doesn't she drive a V8?), and...game night!
"Every day, for hours, I am outside in my truck with hawk traps, scanning the countryside for a juvenile redtail."
It truly is hard to believe the neglect.
Sorry for your loss little lamb, you were born onto the wrong farm.
So sad. So senseless. Well said.
ReplyDeleteYep...I know she always espouses the idea that farm animals aren't pets, and, therefore, can't be dragged to the vet every time they sneeze because it's simply not profitable. And I GET that..I really, really do. I have a flock of chickens--they're a little of both. Pets and practical animals to have for fertilizer, eggs, bug control, etc. About five months ago, they all came down with some sort of horrific respiratory disease. I did everything within reason to save them--including bringing the sickest ones into the house and keeping them in a dog crate in my spare bathroom. After a week of antibiotics with no results, I stumbled across an herbal remedy for fluid in the lungs that worked WONDERS, but I digress.
ReplyDeleteI lost half my flock to the disease. You know what? It was sad, but I knew I'd done everything within my power with the time I had and the resources I had. Turns out, the cure was something I'd grown right in my own backyard and tinctured the year before!
WHAT I'm trying to say is this: no one expects her to take any of her farm animals to the veterinary ER and drop thousands of dollars on lifesaving treatments that may or may not work. HOWEVER, I don't think it's foolish or naive or idealistic at all to expect that someone who is so into small-scale agriculture and (supposedly) humane farming practices would maybe feel a little burdened/guilty for a lamb that was paralyzed in a shed, probably shitting and pissing all over itself for WEEKS with no improvement. She always speaks of killing an animal as a sacred/noble thing. In the case of the lamb, it would have most certainly been the RIGHT thing to do. Jesus Christ this pisses me off. If that lamb had the wherewithal and opposable thumbs required to do the work himself, he probably would have gotten the gun and offed himself long ago. :( A single bullet costs hardly anything...but I guess she was hoping he'd miraculously recover so she could pat herself on the back.
Yes, I believe it is neglect. If she spent most of her day watching her animals instead of galavanting all over the place looking for a hawk, maybe she would have noticed the lamb in trouble.
ReplyDeleteI think I may be done reading finally. I'm ashamed I donated. I was so inspired originally. I didn't want that life, but it was wonderful to hear about it. Now, I'm sad. There's enough abuse in this world! If it was just for her to go out and do stupid things, it would actually be better than giving her money to abuse animals.
ReplyDeleteSad isn't the exact word to describe how I feel. I feel almost betrayed. I think other readers are feeling that way. Her writing certainly places no blame on herself for things. It's easy to overlook it.
The sheep certainly seem to be taking a backseat to Merlin and her current hawk infatuation. Since the wool CSA was a complete failure and she hasn't found a way to make money off the sheep, I'm sure they are no longer a priority. All funds and attention go to the hobby du jour mean while the rest of the animals suffer neglect.
ReplyDeleteGo back and read past entries- she has this same sort of problem spring and fall, and of course when she "lambs" Leaving this animal to suffer for three weeks while she chases yet another hobby, is just another example of her absolute self centeredness and desire to have it be all about her. There was no reason for that lamb to suffer like it did.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, she is making me mad on Facebook.... ugh!!!!! She IS the only one that has animals or a farm or whatever... she is the saint of single women homesteaders. Yeah right. agh.... I want to just throw up.
ReplyDeleteOK. $20 for that "S" book she got by Abrams; and nearly $50 for that Farming Game she plays. Hmm.... isn't that just about a vet visit??? To say nothing of the wasted gas driving around looking for yet another innocent animal to neglect.
ReplyDeleteAny decent farmer, interested in their flock, would have spent the money on a necropsy in order to determine whether it was disease, bacteria, vitamin deficiency, or who-knows-what that killed her lamb. The health of the flock is at stake any time there's something you can't identify. How will she assure this won't happen again (possibly with the same dam) if she doesn't figure out what happened this time? Necropsy is expensive, but if you own a flock where you plan on selling or eating the meat, I think it's an essential expense.
ReplyDeleteSometimes necropsies can be as low as $30, especially for livestock. She didn't even inquire about one I'll bet. I can almost assure you that lamb died from something very easily treatable, but he was in too poor condition to even come back once he was treated.
ReplyDeleteShe's not going to do it because then the vet would know why... and she probably knows why. Or at least has an idea. Like all the other animals that seem to meet their demise there. Poor Annie. Must be fun for her to watch her mom and Gibson all over the place, when she gets locked in her crate all the time, no longer cool. Just waiting to die. That just breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteI feel like crying.
DeleteAm I the only one wondering if she has Munchausen by proxy syndrome related to pets/animals? She sure seems to like to discuss her ill/neglected animals an awful lot. Or am I being too harsh? I wonder if the local animal welfare ever got involved since someone mentioned they attempted to report her. Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteThat has crossed my mind too, like the comment that she survived the cold but the lamb did not. There are many other examples...
DeleteYou have a point. Even a great, responsible farmer finds dead livestock from time to time. Then they make it near impossible for the same thing to happen again.
DeleteNO FARMER KNOWINGLY LEAVES AN ANIMAL TO DIE. She was probably hoping it would last long enough to be hawk-feed, but the poor little paralyzed lamb couldn't hold on long enough. Geesh, most hobby farmers at least start as animal-lovers.
As hard as it is to believe, I think she's just really clueless and terrible with animals. I went to college with her, and I know for a fact she got kicked off our college's equestrian team for being too hard on the horse's mouths (the captain of the equestrian team was my next door dorm neighbor), and I remember hearing from a mutual friend that she let Jazz attack and kill one of her ferrets. Her past of animal neglect goes back way further than you think, tragically!
DeleteWow. Just wow. And now she is teaching the world to follow in her footsteps or at least pay to watch.
DeleteSorry, I don't think she is clueless about the animals and the neglect/abuse they have been shown over the years. She might have been clueless in the past, but I don't think so any more. If she was that totally clueless, she wouldn't have been able to manipulate so many people. She has learned what worked in garnering sympathy and money, and building up a following. She might be other things, but I don't think she is clueless.
DeleteI filed an online report to the SPCA in her county, but have never heard back. Maybe if several of us actually call? I'm thinking about doing that.
DeleteDoes anyone else remember the "Oops Jazz ate all my baby chicks trapped the in bathroom" post??????
ReplyDeleteThe answer is to become more aware of MBPS (Munchausen By Proxy with pets) and speak up when something doesn’t seem right. Animal cruelty is a crime no matter how much or how little a person is aware of their actions. In the case of a defenseless dog or cat, it’s always best to err on the side of caution.
ReplyDeleteCall your local SPCA, Humane Society or Animal Rescue. Put yourself in your best friend’s position. If the person you depend on is also the person who hurts you the most, wouldn’t you want somebody to speak up for you?
http://www.natural-wonder-pets.com/munchausen-by-proxy-with-pets.html
If you can't afford to take an animal to the vet or give it proper care, then you shouldn't have the animal. Period.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me she didn't throw that lamb outdoors! I thought he was in the house in a dog crate. Placing him back out in the cold when he couldn't even stand is unbelievably cruel.
ReplyDeleteFrom the way she wrote and all, he was back in the run in shed. She said she brought him down the hill. Her sheep are up on a hill. Pretty freaking upsetting, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWasn't there video of the sick lamb laying in the shed licking a mineral block? I'm pretty sure there was...
ReplyDelete