Animal News

Sheep and goats act as guide for blind horse

Michelle Feldstein was prepared to provide special accommodations for the blind horse she recently added to the flightless ducks, claw-less cats and homeless llamas inhabiting her animal shelter in Montana. But nothing could prepare her for the 40-legged, seeing-eye entourage that accompanied "Sissy," a sightless, 15-year-old quarter horse.

"Sissy came with five goats and five sheep - and they take care of her," said Feldstein, the force behind Deer Haven Ranch, a private rescue facility she runs with her husband, Al, on 300 acres north of Yellowstone National Park. The seeing-eye sheep and guard goats are never far from the white mare, and they never lead her astray. They shepherd Sissy to food and water, and angle the horse into her stall amid blowing snows or driving rains.

"They round her up at feeding time and then move aside to make sure she gets to the hay," Feldstein said. "They show her where the water is and stand between her and the fence to let her know the fence is there." The animals might have been marked for death had Feldstein not intervened when another rescue facility in western Montana folded this winter. "I only take animals that others consider throwaways," said Feldstein, 66.

Feldstein and her husband, a retired editor of Mad Magazine, underwrite their rescue operation. It can cost as much as $50,000 a year for feed, veterinarian services, and winter-time heating of barns and water troughs for a total of 200 animals. The couple also run a guest house for humans whose profits are poured into the animal sanctuary. Feldstein said she marvels at the blind mare and her barnyard attendants. "There's a magic involved in sheep, goats and a horse becoming best friends," she said. "When you watch them, you have to wonder, why can't people do that?"

Doe gives birth to fawns after being killed in car crash

Two fawns are lucky to be alive after a tragic beginning. Early on Thursday morning, their mother, still carrying the twins, was struck by a car and killed in Bluffton, South Carolina. "She was hit right at term," said Dr. Ben Parker, of the Coastal Veterinary Clinic. "The babies appeared to be in great shape and survived the impact of the car, where the mother did not. I suspect the uterus and all of the fluid in there acted like an air bag and protected these babies and kept them from being killed."

"When our guys arrived on scene, the baby deer, or fawns were trying to stand up. They were kind of wobbly legged," said Capt. Randy Hunter, of Bluffton fire rescue. Firefighters and law enforcement officers called upon the staff at Coastal Veterinary Clinic for help. Parker and his staff have helped rescue fawns and other animals before, they say this is a unique situation.

"This is the first time we've had a deer killed by a car and the babies survived," said Parker. "For them to look as good as they do six to eight hours after the fact is amazing. They're both eating and drinking. I think they'll both survive." The team is going to continue to nurture the twin fawns, giving them a chance at a normal life.


"What we're going to do for the next few months is we need to bottle feed them until they are weaned at about two to three months of age, and then we'll try to find a place to release them and hopefully they'll be adopted by a herd of deer in the local area and be protected and live a full life," Parker said. Bluffton firefighters say they remained at the scene, protecting the fawns until the staff from Parker's office arrived.