Written by Gayl Basson, founder of Fallen Angels Pet Rescue
Professional photography by Dogscapes Fine Art Pet Photography
In September 2020, my best friend, Pieter Klopper, and I went on holiday to a beautiful little farm in Sutherland called Blesfontein Guest Farm. On our tour around the farm, a very sweet farmer’s wife, Marina van der Merwe, took us past the barn where I saw two lambs. We noticed one was fine, but the other one was limping terribly.
Upon enquiring, we were told that the poor little lamb had suffered a terrible accident a day or two after birth. Her foot had been caught in a snare in the fields, and although they rushed her to the vet, they were unable to save her leg. She was still being bottle-fed but was separated from her flock because she needed daily dressings on the stump wound and bottle-feeding. Another lamb, born about the same time as her, was put with her for company. They were unsure of her future, as they knew she’d get injured if returned to the flock. Marina and Nicol Van der Merwe knew we had Fallen Angels Pet Rescue and so they asked if we’d like to take her. We jumped at the chance, and we took her little friend as well.
I named them Dolly and Angel (no link to the cloned original Dolly sheep). They’ve lived on the Fallen Angels Pet Rescue farm for a year now with a herd of alpacas that are their companions and protectors.
DOLLY GETS A NEW LEG
A few months ago, we realised that Dolly, now weighing around 60kgs, was struggling. Due to the unevenness in her front legs, her spine and shoulders were crooked when she walked, and her neck strained with every step. She’d often walk down on her front elbows with her bum in the air.
Fallen Angels is extremely well supported, so I put out a plea on our Facebook page for anyone who could help Dolly. We weren’t even sure if it was possible. There were a few suggestions of plastic pipes and even a spit braai (LOL), but luckily, Eugene Roussouw from Eugene Roussouw Orthotist and Prosthesis, in Sunset Beach, contacted us and said he’d like to try and help Dolly. His company manufactures and fits prosthetics for humans. Although he’d never made one for an animal before, he wanted to try.
Eugene Roussouw and Stephan Kritzinger came and made a plaster cast of Dolly’s stump the following weekend. A metal leg was then made and they returned to fit it. However, they weren’t happy with the angles of the leg, as they wanted it to match Dolly’s natural leg 100%. Eugene really had to think out of the box on this one, as he had to think about an animal living in the sand and in outdoor conditions that can’t look after the prosthesis. Her final leg was fitted on Heritage Day, Friday the 24th of September 2021.
We immediately noticed how, when the new leg was on, Dolly’s body straightened and was in alignment. It’s very strange for her and obviously a huge adjustment. Eugene told us that when people receive their new prosthetic limbs, they use crutches for at least a month until they become used to them. With Dolly, we can’t do this, so we put it on for a few hours and then remove it for another few hours. We notice that she gets quite tired with it on at the moment, but it’s still early days and she’s coping so well with it. She occasionally does a hop, a skip and a jump, but she’s already bearing weight on the leg most of the time.
People have asked me, why not send her to slaughter? Why do this for a sheep? Dolly is my pet – she plays, responds to our voices, comes into our house, lies on our couches and enjoys scratches. I love her the same way as I do all my other pets!
The response from the public and media has been overwhelming – I think Dolly might just be the first sheep in South Africa to tell her story about her false leg. Although it’s early days, we’re really hoping that this leg changes her life. She currently has no idea what all the fuss is about and has had more visitors in the last few days than in her whole life! Dolly is definitely enjoying all the treats and attention and has embraced her new celebrity status!
