Special Bonds: Christine and all the sheep!
/It’s all about the sheep!
It’s probably not fair that we ask our volunteers to pick their favourite resident to feature in our Special Bonds article each month. After all, when it comes to our residents, it’s hard to pick just one…so, for this month’s Special Bonds, Christine has picked our entire sheep family!
It was at a HEEFS volunteer workday when Christine first met Luanne and Gladys who had just arrived from a petting zoo. What struck her most about these two ladies, besides how beautiful they were, was how scared they were – particularly Luanne. Being from a petting zoo, and surrounded by children all the time, Christine expected that they would be accustomed to being approached. But, sadly, it was clear that they were afraid of people. “Luanne would look at me from across the stall, but if I moved in her direction too suddenly, she would head as far away as possible,” recalls Christine. “It literally broke my heart”.
While they were initially been afraid of people, with the help of patient and loving volunteers like Christine, they sure aren’t anymore!
One big happy family
Christine particularly loves how bonded all the sheep are to their family and friends. “The sheep families who arrived together at HEEFS are easy to spot as they are always together to this day.
While sheep may have a reputation for being, well… “sheepish”, nothing could be further from the truth. Christine loves their stubborn streak and how they will stomp their feet if they don’t like what you’re doing. “It always makes me laugh” says Christine. “I know exactly what they are thinking!”.
If you really want to make Christine laugh, ask her about Moose and his tour day antics when she is conducting a tour! Moose is always front and centre and demands to be told by everyone just how very handsome he is. And, this doesn’t only happen during tours. “Moose LOVES attention anytime and all the time! He will gladly come for a deep hard scratch on his side anytime, and his buddy, Abraham, will also be sure to come over for some attention, too,” explains Christine.
“There’s just so much to love about all the sheep,” says Christine. “I love their voices, I love how super woolly they get, I love it when they have fresh new haircuts, I love going into the pasture and just sitting with them. They’ll go about their business grazing or relaxing, so peaceful and calm, sometimes coming over to say hello, and sometimes just sitting beside me while I give them a little head scratch.”
The sheeple are pretty amazing.
