He was a twin, and his mother only had the strength to feed one lamb, so she had rejected him shortly after birth. To make matters worse, they lived on a sheep farm that breeds lambs for meat. Under ordinary circumstances, Boots would have only a few months to live before facing slaughter. But without the vital nutrients he needed, the fragile lamb would have starved to death even before that.

Fortunately, a concerned neighbor named Judy asked to take on his care. With regular bottle feedings, he regained his strength and soon became a bouncy, playful member of her household. Judy and Boots were quite the pair! They remained inseparable for the next ten months.

As Boots grew, Judy realized he could not be a house-sheep forever and that he would need to join a flock. Still, she worried that returning Boots to the sheep farm might place him back at risk for slaughter. As a compromise, she decided to bring Boots by the farm next door for a supervised play-date. But even though Boots tried his hardest to fit in, the others kept pushing him aside.

Dejected, Boots returned home with Judy. Her own heart ached at his loneliness, too. Although she loved Boots very much, she knew he needed more than what she could provide. So, she called Farm Sanctuary to see if we could help.

We had a very exciting plan for Boots. First, he’d spend a brief period at our Southern California shelter. During this time, we performed routine diagnostics to ensure he had a clean bill of health. Though he remained separate from other sheep—standard procedure for all incoming animals, if they arrive with something contagious—he heard the comforting bleats from our flock on the other side of his enclosure.

The following month, we took Boots to his forever home: Charlie’s Acres!

Charlie’s Acres is a member of our Farm Animal Adoption Network (learn more below). We’ve placed rescued animals with Charlie’s Acres in the past and felt that young Boots would fit in nicely with their flock. But Boots was not so sure, at first; he was a little shy, perhaps remembering the last time he tried to play with other sheep. But one by one, the flock came up to greet him—and soon, he was one of them.

Boots grows more confident by the day and is much beloved by his new sheep and human family. But we’re not the only people who are thrilled by his progress: Judy is so proud that he’s found his place and even plans to visit Boots when she can. He has come such a long way from the little lamb rescued from starvation and slaughter!

Don’t all beings deserve this chance to live their full potential?

Click here to learn more about the social and emotional lives of sheep.