ADORABLE SODA CAN SIZED LAMB
A smart couple, Ben and Sarah Pohlner run a small market garden in Victoria, Australia. The couple grows seasonal produce (such as veggies). But, instead of using herbicides or pesticides to keep their crops weed-free, they employ a flock of sheep to munch away on the unwanted weeds.
Annually their flock of sheep grows as the new adorable baby lambs come into the world. However this year it came with a surprise. Sarah is a trained midwife who works at a local hospital. Giving birth is not a new thing for her. She was ready as always for her sheep to give birth, but one tiny surprise changed everything. She discovered a lamb so small that she didn’t even notice him at first.
Sarah explained that, “The sheep eat all the weeds and veggie scraps and clean up the area so we can start from a clean slate. We call them our ‘cleanup crew.’ We have 10 ewes — and this year we had 16 lambs.”
“I initially thought he was just a bit of afterbirth on the ground, but when it started moving, I was not quite sure what was going on,” Pohlner said. “His twin was full-size and a healthy lamb.”
It appears that the mother sheep also didn’t notice the tiny twin, who’s now named Wally, either. “The mother had just wandered off with the healthy twin and left Wally by himself to die. I have never seen a lamb that small.”
A healthy newborn lamb weighs between 6 and 11 pounds, but tiny Wally is just shy of 2 pounds. Pohlner knew the tiny baby’s chances to survive is very small, but she also knew that she had to do whatever it is to try and save his life. “He fit into the cup of your hands quite comfortably at that stage.”
Sarah called in her training as a midwife and took the tiny baby inside to keep him warm and too feed him frequently through a syringe. But she knew it would be a miracle if Wally made it through the night. But thanks to her training and dedication of round-the-clock care by herself and their three daughters, little Wally is alive and thriving. Sweet Wally has quickly began to put in some weight and now even joins his parents at their farm stand as the mascot. There he spread joy and love to everyone through all the cuddles and pets he gets from shoppers.
In a post on Facebook Pohlner shared the moment when the baby reached 1.1kg. How cute? “Wally Post 12 - Now you are all up to date (see previous posts!!!). Some exciting news here... Wally is gaining weight really well and kicking goals!! YAY!! We were hoping for another 100g and we got there!!! He is getting stronger every day, but not out of the woods yet. Fingers crossed.”
However, things unfortunately took a sad turn for little Wally. The little lamb recently developed a mysterious eye condition which caused him to lose his sight. His loving parents are searching high and low for a way to help him regain his sight. They have taken him to several eye specialists in the area, and little Wally is now scheduled for surgery.
Watch the adorable joyful Wally play with his family: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=134841872133390
But despite the hard times he’s been through, the grateful Wally is as happy as ever.