Saturday, February 19, 2011

Taking The Old Gentleman Sheep To The Vet

Our 6 yo registered, Type 5, Dorper sheep ram was not feeling very well this morning and we had to take him to the vet. Tarien,Cules and I struggled to load the 120kg old man onto the truck,yes he is "slightly" overweight! His name is Mielie, which is the Afrikaans word for Corn.....Our First language is Afrikaans and it is a lot like Dutch and Belgium language which we can follow quite easily! The vet on duty this morning was Hayley and she listened to the old man's heart and lungs which was fine,he was a bit feverish and had a runny tummy so she treated that. He was given penicillin and phenylbutazone shots. She tried to put a tube down his mouth to give him a sort of anti-acid medication but he was having none of it and bit through the tube! His fever was 39.






Cules is utterly devastated having to face up to the fact that the old man might not be around much longer..







Mielie, well and happy just two days ago...







A truck full of Mielie!







Taking his temperature....






This is where he got spunky and decided this whole situation is just too undignified...







You can all three of you sit down on my back and I will just...bite through the tube!







Come on lovely..,the doctor says you are good to go home!
The bond between these two is really something special!

His temperature has gone down to 38.4 now,but he is still lying down...I hope the old man makes it through the night.
It has already been arranged to tap semen from him if he should recover..,special equipment is being sent through from Pretoria so that our local vet can do this for Cules over the next couple of weeks.
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11 comments:

  1. AllisonFebruary 19, 2011 at 5:54 AM

    Oh... I once loved a little calf up on the mountain where I would help out around the farm. He had a deformed back, and it was a terrible day they took him away! I hope your sweetie gets better soon!

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  2. DawnFebruary 19, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    Hope he gets better. It's a terrible feeling when our pet-friends get ill.
    That is quite "a truck full". I have never seen a sheep so big.

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  3. TexWisGirlFebruary 19, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    I love the affection Cules shows for him. And I hate that he's sick. I hope he recovers. How long do sheep usually live?

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  4. Lori SkoogFebruary 19, 2011 at 6:42 AM

    It is so obvious that you and Cules have a great love and respect for all of your animals. I sure hope your boy makes a quick recovery. Sending our best to all of you from Skoog Farm.

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    I hope he gets to feeling better.

    Teresa

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  6. MichaeleFebruary 19, 2011 at 7:27 AM

    Awww - he is so special - he just has to make it!

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  7. LouiseFebruary 19, 2011 at 9:56 AM

    I hope he makes it Liesl. Your very nice husband will be worrying, I know. I will be thinking of all of you.

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  8. Julie HarwardFebruary 19, 2011 at 1:50 PM

    I sure hope he makes it too..I hate it when a loved animal gets sick..so sad! He is a handsome one too :D

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  9. JimFebruary 19, 2011 at 2:28 PM

    Sending all good thoughts to S.A. for Mielie from Nova Scotia!
    Liesl, these photos are really good.....especially the last one.Have you ever entered photo contests? If not, you should. You have a very sensitive 'eye'......one can feel this in your work.
    Here's to Mielie and a good weekend.

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  10. MichelleFebruary 19, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    I do hope he makes it through just fine. It looks like your husband really has a special realtionship with him. Hope all is well.

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  11. IngerFebruary 19, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    It's so hard when our animals get old. I hope he will make it and get well. -- Inger

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Hi,thank you for stopping by "A Little African Magic" and joining my adventures in South Africa. I do enjoy and appreciate to hear from each and every one of you!

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