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Animals: Fred and Huckleberry in the Hospital
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an animal!
Fred the sheep underwent surgery in May for a severe urinary blockage up at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center; he made a speedy recovery, made lots of friends at the hospital, and returned here in good health. Huckleberry his brother was so overjoyed to see him that he ran towards him and flung his head around Fred's neck. These two are usually thick as thieves so the separation must have been difficult.
On Friday the 13th (!) of June, Fred and Huckleberry got into the feed room and overloaded on oat cookies and chicken grain. This is a potentially life threatening event for ruminants - they began suffering bloat which led to acidosis. They were very, very sick. After intensive treatment here for two days, the local vet recommended we head again to New Bolton. |
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| Josh the mechanic making sure Huckleberry and Fred stayed cool. What a nice man! | Fred in the cab of the truck, really not feeling well at all |
On the way, we ran into car trouble. It was a hot day and we were terribly worried about the sheep. But the wonderful men at Pep Boys in White Marsh made sure the sheep were OK. We pulled under a tent they had set up and one of the technicians sprayed cool air on the two boys as another mechanic changed out the alternator just as quickly as he possibly could, knowing we were in a critical situation.
Initially at the hospital the boys were given a poor prognosis, but we begged them to do whatever they possibly could to stabilize their systems (their blood work was not good and their rumens had stopped working) and ease their pain. The next day our wonder vet came in and gave us hope! She operated on both of them, removing the yucky contents from their stomachs and providing them with lots of fluids from IVs and antibiotics, as well as pain medication. They were then given a transfer of rumen fluids from a resident cow to help get their stomachs moving again.
They are still in recovery, but slowly starting to eat and walk around. On our visit today, they decided that Mulberry leaves still taste just as good as ever.
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| Fred taking a rest in the hospital stall | Huckleberry was very depressed, but perked right up when he saw his favorite mulberry leaves! |
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| Fred and Huckleberry's quarters at New Bolton - pretty spiffy | View of their goatly neighbor across the hall in the hospital |
We are so extremely grateful to the highly capable and caring staff at New Bolton Center.
Our bills are expected to exceed $3000 (not including the $1500 for Fred's previous operation). If you'd like to contribute to the brothers' care by making a tax deductible donation, please click on the link below, or write to:
Star Gazing Farm
PO Box 162
Boyds, MD 20841
