Happy Birthday, Michael

When you take in a rescue, you don’t just take in an animal.

You take in a whole bunch of stories.

Some are true.

Some are half true.

And some—well, some are simply what someone needed to believe at the time.

We are almost always told the same thing:

“No, there is absolutely no way this animal could be pregnant.”

And usually, there are signs. Before a kid or a lamb is born, mom’s body tells the story. An udder fills. She starts nesting—rooting around, searching for the perfect spot to bring her baby into the world. Her abdomen swells. There are clues if you know how to look.

But rescue animals don’t always read the textbook.

These sheep were so skinny and malnourished when they arrived. Every one of them needed groceries. They needed time. They needed to gain weight. And gain weight they did—enough that any changes could easily be explained away as healing bodies finally being fed.

Mom never developed the udder you would expect.

She never made a nest.

She never showed us the signs we were taught to look for.

When the baby arrived—on one of the coldest nights so far this year—there was no milk waiting for him. And then came the hardest part of all: mom rejected him.

So we stepped in.

He was brought inside, cleaned up, warmed, and given his first bottle. He drank like he meant it—like a little soul who had no intention of leaving this world. He is strong. He is bright. He is perfect.

He is now a bottle baby. He will be fed A nice warm bottle every 3-4 hours around the clock.

He has his little house set up in a pack and play with a nice warm heating pad. But… he prefers to be in my lap.

Rescue is never as simple as the stories we’re handed. Bodies don’t always behave the way they’re “supposed to.” Trauma hides things. Malnutrition masks signs. And sometimes life arrives quietly, without warning, and asks you to rise to the moment anyway.

And we did.

Welcome to the world, little one.

You weren’t expected.

You weren’t planned.

But you were never unwanted.

Whispering Acres Farm Animal Sanctuary