Sam arrived at RASTA at a couple of months old, having been surrendered by a woman who got him for free from the farmer who had bought him for only $30.
He's a Katahdin sheep, which means he will naturally shed his wool, and sometimes that is collected and used during the time the sheep is allowed to live - Katahdin sheep are typically raised for meat. Sam is a very unique boy though, he was born with cataracts and is therefore visually impaired.
Sam was sold by a breeder to a farmer who rasises lambs to sell to 4H homes and into the breeding industry. Kathadin sheep are considered meat animals, and are killed as lambs or raised for a bit longer before being sent to slaughter. 4H animals are raised and used as educational tools for children, named and treated with love and then sold at auction as a final "lesson" for the child. Auction houses sell based on the bidder, therefore these animals almost always end up killed for meat or being used to breed other sheep who are killed for meat before being killed themselves when their ability to breed profitably decreases. Sam was lucky, and instead of this fate he was given a chance to live because of his unique situation. Oddly, farmers who don't directly take part in the slaughter that results from breeding and 4H often disagree that they play an active role in it, however one cannot exist without the other and a human requirement to consume lambs, sheep, or use their hair for garments is nonexistant in our modern society.
Here at RASTA, we've introduced Sam to Betty, our elderly Katahdin ewe and the pair have become a little family. Her with a child she can keep at last, and him with a mother he won't be taken from.
Since his arrival we have worked extensively to assess and find a siolution to his vision. After consulting with experts all over Canada, we took Sam over to Vancouver to a specialist and they were able to determine that he did not in fact need surgery, and that based on where his cataracts were some daily drops would increase his sight significantly. Since then he's had a much different view of the world and we feel much more confident that a day will come when he can live in commiunity with all the residents here at the Sanctuary.
