Longmeadow Rescue Ranch Barn Buddy

Pepe A black Katahdin- cross sheep. Sponsor Pepe!

Pepe's Story
Pepe was born at Longmeadow Rescue Ranch on Christmas Eve morning in 2005. His mother was one of 67 animals rescued from St. Genevieve County in July 2005. The rescue included a horse, donkeys, goats, sheep, potbellied pigs, a dog and several cats. These animals had been living in unsanitary conditions and did not have proper shelter or food. Many of them had internal parasites, lice and were pregnant.

Pepe’s mother was probably a first-time mother. When he was born, she was afraid of him and would not let him nurse. He could not walk well on his back legs, so he fell down quite a bit and had trouble getting up. To make sure he got proper nutrition, Pepe was bottle-fed by Longmeadow staff members and volunteers. His mother did have another lamb three days later and, thankfully, she began taking care of that lamb, named Le Pew. He is an identical twin to Pepe, who has a white spot on his head and white spots on the left side of his belly. (It is not unusual for baby sheep to be born several days apart.)  Pepe is a Katahdin sheep, which were developed in Maine for grazing under power lines.

Pepe's Health
When he was born, Pepe appeared healthy except for having trouble walking. The tendons in his back legs were stretched and he just needed exercise to tighten them up.  His front legs were also a little crooked so he received vitamin shots to help correct them. Pepe’s leg problems stemmed from his mother not having a quality diet when he was first developing. 

Pepe is vaccinated yearly to protect him against various diseases that sheep can be exposed to. He is also dewormed regularly to protect him from internal and external parasites. Staff trim Pepe's feet every couple of months.
  
 
Pepe's Personality
Since Pepe was hand-raised, he bonded with people and thinks of the Longmeadow staff as his mothers. He likes to snuggle and loves watching videos on the big screen in the Learning Center Classroom.

Pepe lives in an outside pen with fellow barn buddies, Mama Llama, Banjo, and Crackers. Pepe usually sticks with his sheep friends and they find delicious treats all over Longmeadow. When it is time to come back to their pen for the night, the staff just call Pepe's name and say "here sheep, here sheep" and they come running back from where they were exploring. Sometimes Pepe is having too much fun exploring and calling for him is not enough. Then, shaking a bucket with some grain to entice him, brings him running to his pen.