A sheep in New York was set to be slaughtered before a sanctuary stepped in.
“Nicole had been at a small hobby farm for 10 years and was bred over and over again,” Riki Higgins with Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in High Falls told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
Nicole, who the sanctuary believes is 12 years old, bred multiple litters of babies, but none of them survived because she had an issue with her udder that didn’t allow her to nurse, Higgins said.
“They didn’t have formula, they didn’t monitor the babies or anything,” Higgins said. “They just continued to breed her, but one of the people on the farm got fed up.”
It appeared she was going to be slaughtered — until someone stepped in and called the sanctuary, Higgins said.
In March, crew with the sanctuary went to the farm and performed a “sad” rescue, Higgins said.
“They lured her in to have her penned up by having one of her buddies there,” Higgins said. “We asked if we could take the the other sheep too, but they told us ‘no.’”
Nicole had given birth to three babies two days before her rescue, Higgins said. The babies didn’t survive, but Nicole still had blood and bodily fluids on her backside.
Higgins said Nicole “isn’t the most fearful sheep” and “was very patient” when they had to do “extensive exams and cleanup on her.”
Nicole underwent fecal tests to see if she had any parasites and was quarantined for three weeks before she was able to meet her new herd, Higgins said.
“It’s looking pretty likely right now that Nicole is going to need surgery for that udder,” they said in a March 21 TikTok captioned “Please meet Nicole. Her story is sad but she’s starting to heal here.”
In the TikTok that’s garnered over 6.2 million views as of April 12, Nicole can be seen being released into the sanctuary’s “goat and sheep barn.”
All her “new friends” quickly run up to her and give her a warm welcome, the April 8 video shows.
“Our sheep live in a reassuring environment and unusual things don’t usually happen to them so they feel very safe and comfortable,” Higgins said. “We feel comfortable introducing new sheep to our herd, and they generally are pretty chill when it comes to meeting new folks.”
But Higgins said “not every new sheep reacts the way Nicole did.”
“Some are a lot more nervous but she seemed to sense ‘OK, this is all good, they’re coming to check me out, everything’s fine,’ so she went right on in there,” Higgins said.
They said Nicole is now “doing great.”
“She’s spending time with our more reserved sheep, which is to be expected,” Higgins said. “She’s adjusting to the team, learning who she likes to hang out with.”
TikTok users jumped to the comments and gave their thoughts on the sanctuary “saving this angel.”
“It’s the ‘you’re safe now’ by sheep for me,” one user said.
“That’s so sweet. They just enveloped her in a big group hug and accepted her. I hope she finds peace in her new family,” another person said.
“She’s such a cutie, welcome to the good life Nicole,” one said.
High Falls is about a 100-mile drive north of New York City.
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