Maddison, Maddie for short, is a little lamb born on a farm in Canada earlier this year. The timing of her birth was meant to coincide with the upcoming Easter market and she was supposed to be just a couple months old which means she would be big, but not too big.
But things didn’t work out.
She was too small to be worth the time and costs of formula as she wouldn’t hit the market weight in time
Megan Mostacci
Megan Mostacci is the cofounder of Black Goat Farm and Sanctuary in Ontario. The sanctuary helps injured, orphaned, and abused animals by giving them a forever home in a safe place. It also sounds like they house just about every domesticated species. Their website mentions goats, turkeys, chickens, ducks, guinea hens, pigs, sheep and cattle.
Things looked dire for Maddie. When livestock doesn’t reach their desired weight, farmers don’t have much use for them. Luckily for Maddie, Mostacci managed to negotiate the little unwanted lamb’s rescue.
After arriving at the sanctuary in March, Maddie was very weak and just laid around. It didn’t take long for their Australian shepherd, Lincoln, to notice her though. Lincoln found Maddie right away and began looking after her.
“As soon as Maddie got into the house Lincoln was licking her and standing by her little bucket so the other dog and cats wouldn’t go near her.” says Mostacci
Lincoln is already used to lots of animals around the house, but their bond was special. Soon, Maddie was back on her feed and active thanks to her new older brother.
“We bought her a lamb stuffy to cuddle with, thinking it may make her feel better, it was a constant fight with Lincoln over the stuffy as he would steal it from her.”
The game of keep-away turned into something special. The two began moving, playing, and Maddie got stronger by the day. Soon, the duo caught the attention of social media, and people began cheering them on.
”When they aren’t playing, they are cleaning each other’s ears and cuddling together,” says Mostacci.
In a world where it seems like kindness can be in short supply, Lincoln the Australian shepherd provides a heartwarming example of what life can be like. Maddie, the tiny lamb, was weak but with Lincoln’s help, she regained her strength and began to thrive. Lets all be a little more like Maddie and Lincoln.
