Every single lamb and sheep I meet has a personality all their own, some are grumpy, some are bossy, all are loving and once they know you and trust you will enhance your life simply by being your friend.
Today 23 sheep and lambs call the Good Place home. In addition to the fantastic four (of which there are now sadly only three) we have:
- Lilly and Billy
- Rose and Tulip
- William Wallace
- Ella and Oliver
- Bernadette and Timmy
- Jethro and Peanut
- Bertie and Priscilla
- Clover and Jane and Tilly
- Thomas and Tina
- Jedd and Cara
Lilly and Billy
Lilly and Billy were two of several lambs born one afternoon at a Melbourne abattoir, destined to be slaughtered before ever meeting their mothers. Two of the lucky ones, Lilly and Billy instead made their way to their forever home here at the Good Place Sanctuary.
Lilly is a sweetheart, always up for a cuddle, and one of the first to greet visitors, Lilly is smaller than most of her woolly family and has no time with the head butting games of her bigger buddies, but will always put her best hoof forwards for a game of tag.
Billy is more aloof, but never far from Lilly’s side. Together, Lilly and Billy will live out their lives in comfort and warmth, with love, cuddles, and weetbix whenever they’re needed.
For the longest time it was impossible to tell Lilly and Billy apart they were so alike and never left each other’s side. Eventually though, they grew, both in stature and in bravado. Billy will now venture off on his own with mentor Dodgy. But really, he’s never far from Lily’s side.
Rosie and Tulip
Rosie and Tulip arrived the same year as Lilly and Billy.
Rosie was a wee little orphan lamb rescued bundled up from her lonely paddock setting, where she had been deserted by her mum as a tiny newborn, by a friendly farmer. Her first few weeks of life saw her cared for by the farmer’s family. But after a few weeks she became very unwell and I found her cold and almost lifeless in their orphan lamb paddock and her carer agreed she could come home with me, although she doubted she’d pull through.
Rosie was determined though and pull through she did. Quickly becoming a firm favorite of the then young Dodgy and they have never spent a full day apart since then.
It can be lonely without a little friend to call your own though, so when Victorian Lamb Rescue offered Rosie a friend we were very happy to take up that offer – and the effervescent Tulip arrived shortly after. It wasn’t just Rosie that adored Tulip, our resident clown Neo was also besotted and rarely left her side.
Rosie and Tulip are now firm friends, despite their widely differing personalities. Rosie is self-assured, quiet and patient and looooves a good bum scratch. Tulip is a ball of energy whose sole purpose in life is to create mischief. Even now, as one of the older more ‘mature’ girls, she has that twinkle in her eye that you just know means trouble – in the cutest possible way of course
Ella and Ollie
Ella and Ollie arrived the following year. Ella was found by a wildlife sanctuary and whisked to freedom from certain death either from the elements in the middle of a harsh winter, or the predators who would soon discover a lonely little newborn lamb laying alone in an empty paddock with mum nowhere to be seen. Ollie was born within a day of Ellie and one of the tiniest lambs I’ve rescued. But once in front of a warm fire, with other little lambs to talk to and snuggle up with Ollie quickly caught up with his best friend Ella.
Today Ella is a gorgeous little lady with soulful eyes, who likes to watch from the sidelines until everyone else settles down before choosing her moment to swoop in for a quick neck scratch.
Ollie, on the other hand, is a big boy now – much larger than Ella, but still never far from her side. He is a funny character, probably the joker of the pack if I could speak sheep, with huge wool neck ruffles and a glint in his eye.
Wally
A few months after Ellie and Ollie arrived, Wally, AKA William Wallace, was found close to exhaustion on the side of a highway on a 42 degree day. He was terrified, dehydrated, starving and very lost.
Like his name sake he had fought for his freedom, probably escaping a truck on its way to the sale yards or meat works a few kilometres down the road. Unlike his namesake – he won!
His first few days with us were a bit touch and go, as he settled into the cooler environment of an air conditioned room, a human who treated him only with kindness and a welcoming committee of many others like him.
By the end of his first two months with us he had transformed in to a beautiful, healthy, and very curious boy, he’d caught up to the older lambs in size and was keen to check out everyone from a distance. Wally has always understandably remained selective on who he allows to actually touch him.
Today, he is a gentle giant. He provides the gentlest welcome to the those newly arrived and scared. And, while he still prefers to remain just beyond arms reach of most humans, I am lucky enough to be treated daily to the offer of his slightly bowed head for a good scratch around his horns.
Bernadette and Timmy
The following year, Bernadette and Timmy arrived. Bernie was a big strong girl even as a hapless little orphan found cold and alone in a freezing hail storm one winter’s day, and her voice is still the loudest of everyone’s. As a baby she could always be found with her long legs stretched out taking prime spot in front of the fire, dwarfing the boys who were her fellow orphans that year.
Bernie does not consider ‘no’ to be a word worth hearing and will simply continue to bellow loudly until someone takes her request seriously – which usually, of course, involves weetbix or other treats considered worthy.
Timmy arrived shortly after Bernie, when a kindly woman chose to walk her dog on a new track, for some reason she couldn’t explain. Shortly after setting off she spied a small pile of wool beside a fence line and her dog decided to investigate. To her, and her dog’s immense surprise, the little pile of fluff let out a tiny squeak, and as they say, the rest is history.
Growing up, Timmy did not really know if he was sheep or goat, as his arrival coincided with that of a teeny tiny goat who he quickly came to adore and follow around like a shadow. It was only after he became too big to follow along on some of her escapades and managed to get stuck several times half way through, or over, or under the fence, that Timmy thought better of living the life of a goat, and settled in to becoming one of the flock.
Jethro and Peanut
Jethro was the first lamb to arrive in 2022. A huge lad, Jethro was found as a newborn beside the fence line in a remote paddock on an icy cold morning in the Grampians. There was no real expectation that Jethro would make it to his second day, he’d laid alone for so long in the icy cold rain and biting winds that day.
He surprised us all when about 12 hours after arrival at the Good Place, Jethro finally stuck his head up and called out for someone to come to him… and of course we did, immediately. From there he fought his way back through a terrible case of pneumonia, to become the lovable lad with a style all his own that he is today.
Peanut is a few weeks younger than Jethro and less than half his size. But she is very, very cheeky and was undoubtedly the leader of that pack that year – from her lofty position as Queen of the Couch, Peanut would look down on young Jethro, who doted on her day and night.
Peanut had a terrible fear of being alone when she arrived and would call and call if she couldn’t immediately see her friends when she awoke from a nap. We can only guess at how terrifying it must have been to find herself alone in a paddock as a tiny little newborn lamb.
To this day, Peanut still worries about being alone, and can be heard calling out from far away in the paddock when she finds herself too far from her friends and begins imploring them to come back for her. They invariably do of course, Jethro will still lift his head at her call and go and find her and bring her back to the safety of the flock.
Bertie and Priscilla
Bertie and Priscilla came to the Good Place from another sanctuary the same year as Jethro and Peanut. They journeyed from one end of Victoria to the other to arrive here with us – and we are very pleased they did.
Bertie is a dorper sheep who lived to tell the tale of being picked up by an eagle in his first few days of life. He has large scars across his shoulders to show for it – although these days they are covered by his crazy wool coat. But while he may be a sheep by birth, Bertie is a cat in spirit – he loves to lay in laps and will take your place on a chair within 20 seconds of you standing. Even today, as one of the grown ups in the paddock, Bertie is first to arrive looking for treats and cuddles – and your chair when you leave.
Priscilla is Bertie’s polar opposite. Priscilla is calm and quiet and always happy to wait her turn – pushing and shoving is not her style. Priscilla is one of the sweetest sheep here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her say a grumpy word to anyone.
Tilly, Clover and Baby Jane
Late in 2022 the Sanctuary moved to new, larger premises, with more room for more residents. Tilly, Clover and Baby Jane were neighbours at our new place, who over time have merged themselves into the Good Place flock and are now happily embedded as part of the family.
Tina and Thomas
Tina and Thomas are the only two lambs born here at the sanctuary. Sadly, true to form, their mum would have nothing to do with them after they were born. While she wouldn’t hurt them if they stayed away from her, she would not let them close to her and definitely would not feed them. So, as is the case for all little ones needing help, they were bundled up and brought into the warmth of the fire.
Tina and Thomas both thrived and have grown into wonderfully independent and curious little sheep, who along with their friends Jedd and Cara, spend many hours out in the paddocks exploring and playing, long after the grown ups have returned to the shade of the barn, for their afternoon siesta.
Jedd and Cara
Jedd and Cara are the youngest of the Good Place sheep. Beautiful little suffolk cross lambs rescued by another sanctuary, they reminded me so much of Frankie that I could not resist them.
Cara is definitely the more adventurous of the two, but Jedd is never far behind her. Funnily enough they have not grown into large suffolk sheep like my gentle giant Frankie, but are small, almost miniature sheep, who eat just as much if not more than the big boys and girls so are constantly skipping around with big pot bellies.
They round out the family perfectly and I cannot imagine the Good Place without them.