Disabled lamb takes first steps with specially-made stroller
If you’re feeling fragile or on edge, it’s probably best you click off this article. For your eyes are about to leak. You have been warned.
Meet Pam ― a disabled lamb who was born completely unable to walk — was abandoned in a field in Chile at just a few days old, metro.co.uk reported.
Thankfully, she was rescued and taken to Sanctuaries Igualdad, a shelter which cares for farm animals in El Monte, Chile, where she was nursed back to health. And given the gift of walking.
Isadora Godoy, office manager at Santuario Igualdad, said, “She was found in a field by some people and she couldn’t move her hind legs at all ― they were very stiff ― and her front ones didn’t work properly.
“We are not sure what happened but we think some people at a dairy farm might have thrown her away because she is a female.
“We did many tests to find out what was wrong with her and gave her the treatment she needed.
“If she hadn’t have been found, she would have died in a day or two but we will care for her for the rest of her life.”
Volunteers at the shelter dressed Pam in warm sweaters and fed her vitamins in the hope she would regain strength and find her feet.
However, medical exams showed that her stiff hind legs and bent front legs could be due to devastating spinal damage which may have occurred in the womb.
Lucky for little Pam, her rescuers didn’t give up ― and made her a wheelchair-type device, sheep.
“Pam is the most happy and enthusiastic little lamb,” said Godoy.
“It is really funny to watch her learning to walk.
“We think she will always need the wheelchair. We don’t think she will ever be able to walk normally.”
Pam kept trying to walk when she first arrived at the center, but her legs would splay out, and she kept falling.
“Right now she is wearing specially made for bandages on her legs at the front and has something to tie her legs to prevent them from opening so she can walk by herself,” explained Godoy.
“We put her in a wheelchair through the day so that she can exercise and get steadier on her feet.”
Pam’s carers say she’s super determined and is undergoing regular physiotherapy.
However, while she’s gaining strength, without round-theclock care she would be unable to fend for herself.
Pam is set to get a new wheelchair soon after Santuario Igualdad, which cares for 80 animals, launched a fundraiser.
The one she is currently using is too heavy and large as it was made for bigger sheep with disabilities and the new one will better fit her teeny weeny size.
So, while Pam’s story has a horrible start, it seems like she’s getting the happy ending she deserves.
To sponsor Pam or learn more, visit the shelter’s website and follow Santuario Igualidad on Instagram.
Good luck little Pam, we’re all rooting for you, darling.