There is a very large house on the outskirts of our village. It is used as a weekend/holiday home by a wealthy Swiss banker who is gradually buying up all the surrounding farmland and setting it up as paradise for fox hunters. (harrumph!) The rest of the time it is occupied by his live-in staff/groundspeople.
They have a large selection of different breeds of sheep and last night I noticed that they were all corralled together in a small paddock near the road so I popped up there with my camera. This one was by the gate and I suspected that it was stuck. Now I have been caught out like this before, thinking that sheep and goats, and in one particularly embarrassing incident a cow had their heads stuck through fences when in fact they hadn't, so I took some photos and waited to see if it freed itself. It just stood there apparently resigned to its fate and I noticed that the grass around its back feet was all worn away, so it had obviously been there for some time. I would have climbed over the gate to try to free it but it was electrified so I went to find the groundsman.
After negotiating the Fort Knox-like electric gate/security system I apologised to his wife for disturbing them and told her about the sheep, making sure that she knew it had obviously been there for some time. She tutted, told me that sheep were obstinate animals (tho I am not sure what obstinacy has got to do with it) and that she supposed she would have to go and see if she could free it. Not a word of thanks. Graceless person - I seem to have been attracting them in the past few days!
Sheep are pretty stupid animals, and they do often seem to have a death wish. But it's not their fault. Anyway, I 'just happened' to be passing again about an hour later and the sheep had been freed.
Well done Jan... sounds like they are not proper farming types just business men of land...a big difference! The sheep would be grateful anyway but no doubt it would have thought ''oh well no one is coming I will just give it ten more minutes then I might as well lay down & die'' Silly things but you saved it!!
Maybe the groundskeeper wasn't too grateful for your call, but I bet that the sheep was deeply grateful! Keep doing good and maybe it will rub off on some people who are too wrapped up in themselves. You helped set this captive free!
Oh, no! Poor little fuzzy thing. She has quite an alarmed look in her eye.
I had no idea that sheep were dimwitted. Wonderful that you came along and took the effort to alert the groundskeeper. At least she followed through and got the sheep freed, despite her impolite manner toward you.
June 1st, 2013
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I had no idea that sheep were dimwitted. Wonderful that you came along and took the effort to alert the groundskeeper. At least she followed through and got the sheep freed, despite her impolite manner toward you.