Peppermint & the Story of What Supports Us

And yet…she has already found the sorrow of it. She recently arrived at sanctuary, one bleak afternoon. The sun briefly shone, as if her arrival had pierced the bitterness of the day.

But could we cut through what life had dealt her?

We quickly learned she’d been found huddled by the side of the road. Her forgottenness would have been just that, had kindness not serendipitously found her.

“How can we support you, little one?” became our driving thought as we looked into the innocence of Peppermint’s curious eyes.

Cold, confused and with her mother gone—does life get any more unkind for lambs like Peppermint? Sadly, we know it does, as her story is not unique—though we know she most certainly is—they all are.

Weak animal protection laws airbrush the lives of animals who’ve been labelled “farm”. They become “it”, not “she” or “he”. Their needs are reduced to the bare minimum and even those often go unmet. Their bodies can be sliced as no animal’s ever should, yet it’s seen as just another day on the farm.

How did she get there?
Why did she get there?
Two questions we’ll never know the answer to. But there’s one we do—her future.
Safe, now sanctuary has found her.

Peppermint is scared and rightly so. Her world has changed in a way no baby’s ever should. She doesn’t recognise kindness—not yet anyway. She flinches as we feed her and runs should we follow her. Even the softness in our voice is only heard with hints of betrayal.

How sad it is that love, warmth and care are all so foreign to her.
Her trust we shall have to earn. And earn it, we will.

But then there is little Rowan. The lamb with the permanent frizz. We often joke his mumma must have been a Bichon Frise. In Rowan, she’s found a kindred spirit. Another lamb left without reason or reunion. Lost in a world that once terrified him. Yet in each other, they’ve found what we all yearn for—someone who understands.

A friend to share the silence, another beating heart. One who feels the ache, but makes it hurt a little less. Their bond is sweet. Their joy is sweeter. Watching them together reminds us we are always better together.

Wait. What’s that? Peppermint turns our way. Her eyes are softer this time. She doesn’t move off. She stays.

This…this is what supports us.

And as we marvel at Peppermint’s and Rowan’s healing, as they grow more trusting each day, there’s a harder truth we must confront. We live in a world that celebrates unity and compassion with one hand, while funding cruelty and indifference with the other. We share photos and memes of cute lambs, yet they can legally be served on our plates.

What then supports us as a culture has become a contradiction.

Would Peppermint’s story be different if she were a cat or a dog? Would our sympathies shift? And what about our dietary choices?

Her story challenges us to look a little closer at her life. And ours. To realign what we love with what we choose. To understand that the very systems that routinely and legally fail her and her kind are also the ones so many support—even if without meaning to.

But for now, and forever more, Peppermint is supported by our love. By our care. By Rowan.

And you too, if you choose kindness as your compass.