It Was Their Faces

It was their fate that otherwise lay ahead that spoke of their urgent need of rescue. Holed up in a pound, through no fault of their own, their future was as bleak as their overgrown fleeces. And while cats and dogs in those places are viewed as friends, the differences in their form saw the hapless rams classed otherwise.

But it was their faces.

Their emotion-infused faces. Faces that told of their bewilderment for their circumstance as they huddled together. Clinging on to any familiarity they could. It could well have been a scene from a different era. And species. Terrified of their oppressor and what would come next.

And it was their faces that haunted our dreams their first night at sanctuary. For although we knew their safety was now assured, they most certainly did not. And knowing their long-overdue shearing, and the trauma that it would visit upon them in the coming days, we struggled to find how best to ease the pain held in their faces.

And then we realised the answer lay in ours.

Faces that needed to exude the warmth of our hearts and the promise of the kindness that would follow. Faces that would offer an olive branch from our species to theirs. For we know well the intuitive nature of sheep, and their ability to read our faces.

Seeing how our new friends, Rambo, Ramba, Ramero and Ramesh, are already responding to this, we take great heart that we can change their world for the better. And perhaps more people would realise this too, if only they had the courage to look at their soulful faces.