Alpaca saves mauled sheep
It was a less-than-ideal start to the holiday season for Gail Steven after finding two of her muchloved pet sheep mauled on her Ka¯ piti Coast property.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday in Peka Peka, left one sheep in such a dire state that it had to be put down.
Steven discovered what had happened at about 7.30pm when she was checking all her animals were settled for the evening.
‘‘There was blood everywhere, ears ripped, a tail severed. It was awful.’’
Mumma, another sheep, fared slightly better in the dog attack.
‘‘She is old but chases dogs [but] I’m not sure that she will survive her injuries. She has given up eating and is mostly lying down.’’
Some credit went to Rojo, an alpaca Steven suspected had helped chase the dog away before it could do any further damage. ‘‘She saved the flock.’’ Initially, Steven had little luck tracking down the culprit but suspected it was out-of-towners. Her hunch turned out to be right.
‘‘My daughter found the dog [who was] worrying the sheep, a fluffy spoodle type staying two properties from me for the holidays.’’
After being informed of what had happened the owners had offered Steven compensation for the harm caused but she said it did little to ease her frayed nerves.
‘‘No money can mend the damage done to me and my pets. [It’s] shattered our peaceful rural existence.
‘‘I’m terrified and so are my flock.’’