Escape for Alcatraz

“We’ve got a ram here at the pound who is not fit for sale as his horn has grown into his face. Do you want him?” With a resolute “Yes,” as our reply, we were off to meet Alcatraz.

However, Alcatraz was anything but joyous to see us. Taking two steps backward, head bowed in anything but an act of respect, he leapt forward to deliver the meanest of blows. This was clearly one enraged lad.

But who could blame him? 

For that horn had so penetrated his head and was so pushing upward it had almost displaced  his eyeball from its socket. The pain must have been as excruciating as it was unrelenting, worsening by the minute.

Now relieved of that burden, Alcatraz’s eye has returned to its rightful place, with only the shallowest of divots marking its entry.

No longer a ram, Alcatraz has now joined our happy and healthy herd. The sad irony of it all is that the menacing horn, which caused him so much anguish, was the very thing that led to his escape from a preordained destiny.

All of which goes to show that sometimes in life, the very things set to claim us can be the very things that can liberate us. Thank you, dear Alcatraz, for that reminder.

Alcatraz now thrives in his new home, surrounded by love and care, free from the torment that once defined his existence. His journey from pain to freedom serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of animals, the power of kindness and a good set of gigli wire.*

*Gigli wire – is flexible wire that is used to cut through horns, teeth and even bone.