By Tim Binnall
An animal sanctuary in Australia are being credited with saving the life of a wild sheep that had amassed a staggering 88-pound coat of wool. The veritable sheepsquatch reportedly came to the attention of the carers after an astounded hiker spotted the jaw-dropping animal while exploring the country's Mount Alexander. When they arrived on the scene and saw the creature's condition, workers with the organization Edgar's Mission were understandably concerned for the sheep's well being. "It was heartbreaking," said the group's Pam Ahern, noting that the animal's wondrous wool coat was strewn with all manner of debris including "sticks, twigs and bugs."
The unfortunate animal could barely move under the weight for the wool, Ahearn observed, musing that "I saw terror in his eyes, but I also saw life, and that was enough" to convince her that the sheep could be saved. Amazingly, the creature's coating proved to be so prodigious that the staff at Edgar's Mission had to enlist an expert shearer, who journeyed out to their property at midnight to free the animal from its peculiar predicament. "It was critical," Ahearn explained, "if we didn't get it off him that night, I actually don't think he would have made it." Fortunately, after an hour of proverbial sheep-scaping, the creature could stand on its own two feet again without the whopping 88 pounds of wool that had haunted it for so long.
Ahearn believes that, based on the size of its coat, the sheep had likely escaped from a farm and had been living on the lam, so to speak, for the last six years. Oddly enough, the rescue occurred nearly a year after Edgar's Mission made headlines around the world when they saved another sheep that had similarly been found sporting a coat of wool that weighed 78 pounds. Reflecting on the eerie coincidence, the organization marveled on Facebook that "they say that lightning never strikes twice. Thankfully kindness does!" The recently saved and shaved sheep, dubbed Alex in recognition of the mountain where it was found, has fully recovered from its fuzzy misadventure and now happily lives at the group's sanctuary.