I would like to file a formal complaint regarding a recent incident with sanctuary management.

Last week, without warning, the veterinarian arrived and announced that Maisie and I were getting our annual vaccinations.

Apparently, being beautiful, beloved, and generally essential to sanctuary operations does not exempt someone from “preventive medical care.”

I find this troubling.

I was told the shots were necessary to keep me healthy. While I strongly support keeping me healthy, I question whether anyone fully explored the possibility of accomplishing this through carrots instead.

Then Ryan put big pink covers on my horns.

Both of them.

Apparently, my natural elegance presented a safety concern. I have spent years growing these horns, and he dressed them as though they were attending a baby shower. 

Nevertheless, I handled the situation with the dignity expected of someone in my position. I stood bravely while everyone admired how good I was. Then, having survived (barely), I was ready to begin the difficult process of rebuilding trust.

However, everyone seemed ready to carry on with the day. This surprised me. I had assumed there would be a small reception honoring my bravery. Nothing elaborate. A few remarks. A banana platter. Ryan explaining his choices. Especially the stabby ones.

I am therefore requesting the following:

• A formal apology
• Advance notice of all future shots, including a full explanation of all snacks involved
• Compensation provided before anyone approaches me with a needle
• ​Final approval of anything described as something I “need to wear”

Despite this unfortunate violation of my dignity, I remain healthy, magnificent, and willing to move forward once appropriately compensated.
​
-Jenna

I have been informed that Gwen will be arriving soon, and naturally I have been thinking about what an excellent big sister I am going to be.

I already have many important things to teach her: how to ask for snacks, how to make sure everyone is paying attention to you, and how to remain confident that you are correct even when someone suggests otherwise.

I also think babies need someone calm, patient, and responsible looking out for them. Fortunately, I am at least one of those things.

I have been told that she will be very small at first, which is fine. I am very large, so between the two of us we should average out nicely. I also understand that she may cry sometimes. I do not see this as a problem. I am quite experienced with expressing my feelings loudly when I would like something, so I believe this will be to her advantage during our training which I mentioned previously.

Mostly, I am excited to meet her. I think she is going to love me.

- Jenna

Huckleberry spent the better part of his young life keeping a cautious eye on his backside, which was often coming into contact with Edna's horns. Huck always held out hope for a friendship and it seems that now that he has grown bigger, Edna's feelings have changed.  He went from being a little boy she pushed around, to a friend to play with.  And we have even caught them gently rubbing their heads together!  She still occasionally headbutts him just to maintain appearances.  But secretly, we think she love him.  And he knows it. ❤️

Frequency: Common

With Fiona, we have good news and bad news.

The bad news:
The medicine trial we did over the past few weeks did not show any meaningful improvement, making IBD less likely and cancer more likely.
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The good news:

Fiona had a few really good eating days over the weekend.  So much so that we brought her to Veg Fest with us on Sunday because she had some spunk back.  She didn't do so well with the long, hot walk to the tent (and to be honest, neither did pregnant Mallory - why do they have this festival in August?!?) but luckily dad was there to carry her.  She approached people who came up to our tent for pets, and insisted on her share of the attention when they went over to meet our pig Millie, who had also joined us.  She tried to wander off to go see some geese by the lake.  In the car, she was looking out the window the whole time, interested in all her surroundings.  

We aren't sure what brought on these good days, but we did start a new kind of food, a probiotic, and got her started on B-12 injections, so it could be any of or a combination of those. 

Next Steps
We now need to move forward with the endoscopy to determine exactly what is going on.  With her reduced weight and elevated kidney values, Fiona isn't a great anesthesia candidate, but she isn't a terrible one, either.  Our internist is going to give her extra fluids and monitor her closely during the procedure to protect her kidneys as much as possible.  

If it is cancer, the most likely one would be a slow-growing lymphoma, which is treatable medically, but only after a biopsy to confirm it.  The endoscopy procedure would also take samples for biopsy, so we will be able to get a definitive answer.  Fiona is scheduled for next Monday morning for the procedure.  

Our current fundraising goal is $5,000 to cover Fiona’s endoscopy, biopsies, pathology, and associated veterinary care. This does not include whatever treatment may come afterward if she receives a diagnosis requiring additional care.
We know this is a lot to ask. Fiona has already needed extensive veterinary care, and our sanctuary is responsible for the lifelong care of so many animals. But Fiona deserves every reasonable chance we can give her at more good days, more adventures, more snacks, more naps in comfortable places, and more time surrounded by the people and animals who love her.
We will share another update as soon as we know more.  Please donate towards Fiona's care if you can - we only have until Monday to raise the funds.  

Our sweet little Huckleberry is just over 18 months old now. He still looks like a big lamb to us, but he is feeling like quite the big boy.  We were so happy when our adult sheep Bonnie and Piper took him into their little flock when he was quite young and loved their baby Huckleberry (while also firmly teaching him sheep manners as a rambunctious little boy).  The three of them, along with Annie the blind dwarf cow, have the most adorable little family.  

​Lately I've been noticing Huck do something strange - he will sometimes put his head on the backs of Bonnie and Piper when they are all hanging out together.  It seems innocuous but they immediately push him off and give him a firm nudge away from them.  So I did some research to figure out what this meant in sheep language. ​

I learned that it is most likely a rank-testing behavior - the sheep who wants to be dominant will put his or her head on the backs of other sheep.  The idea of Huck trying to "dominate" Bonnie or Piper kinda rubbed me the wrong way, because it just doesn't fit in with what I have seen of them.  Bonnie very clearly has always been in charge and made that known from day 1, and Huck has shown nothing but respect for that.  But I thought about it some more and realized that Huck has been acting more and more like a big boy "adult" sheep and that he  probably feels ready to be the big man of his flock.  

So what Huck is really saying to Bonnie and Piper is "I am big now and would like an important role in our family."  And Bonnie and Piper's response is essentially, "You already have one. It just does not involve you being in charge."  To which Huck essentially shrugs in sheep and says Ok fine and goes back to eating.   

There is always so much to learn and so much going on with our animal family.  I just absolutely adore sheep and find them so funny and sweet.  

Indy lost her rooster pal Elton earlier this year, and it was hard for us to watch her grieve him.  But Indy has always been a social butterfly and so we knew she would bounce back once she was ready.  We do have two rooster bffs who live separately and though they seem very interested in having her join them, we worried about them being too much for her and also potentially causing issues in their friendship.  So she gets to visit them through the fence.

But, Indy quickly joined the turkey flock and started sleeping with them at night.  She is particularly close with Louisa the black turkey and they are often seen pecking around the yard together.  It's fun to watch them all walk a path with their little chicken friend stepping in line like it's no big deal. Indy can be a little spacey at times and gets distracted; then once she realizes she is behind everyone else, she sprints adorably to catch up.  

Indy hasn't stopped there, though - she has also been spotted hanging in the barn with the sheep and sometimes our goat Edna.  The sheep have always loved the birds, especially Piper (we suspect maybe she grew up around chickens or turkeys in her first home) so we know they welcome her company.  

Fiona had her specialist appointment with an internist, and we were really grateful for the insight she was able to give us.  She sat down with us and went through all of Fiona's history, gave us her honest opinions, and answered all of our questions thoroughly.  

The good(ish) news - she does not think that the issue is with Fiona's kidneys.  Her kidneys aren't great, but they seem stable and its not presently as classic CKD (chronic kidney disease).  However she is clearly very sick and losing a ton of weight.  
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So, what is it then?

The internist feels it's most likely some type of chronic GI disease.  The two most likely candidates are IBD or, unfortunately, cancer.  However if it is cancer it has not grown into any masses that have been visible on either of the two ultrasounds, so it is likely slow growing.  

The next diagnostic step would be an endoscopy to find out exactly what is going on in her GI tract and take samples for biopsy.