Father’s Day at The Gentle Barn

Father animals in the “real” world seldom exist. They are used to breed, but don’t often get to stay with their mates or raise their babies. At The Gentle Barn we have never rescued a father animal, until Thumper. Thumper was rescued along with many animals from an extreme cruelty case. All the animals were very sick. Thumper was a tiny baby goat, only a few weeks old, who had a high temperature and a respiratory infection. He was on deaths door. As the other animals started to recover it was time to neuter them. Our veterinarian advised us against neutering Thumper just yet as he was way too sick and too young. We asked if we should separate him just in case, but our vet again told us that Thumper was way too ill to be of any threat. Well our tiny, young, sick Thumper fathered six babies!
Thumper made a full recovery and grew up at The Gentle Barn to be a big, strong, healthy, sheep. Having Thumper and his babies has been an extraordinary experience for all of us. We have been able to watch him nurture, raise, and protect his babies and their moms. It had to take an accident for this to happen as we don’t breed animals at The Gentle Barn, but we are so grateful to be able to watch a father with his family and know for sure that they love their families the same way we do. Thumper teaches us all that though animals and humans may look different, we are all the same inside!
The Gentle Barn is located in Santa Clarita. We rescue animals who are too old, too sick, too lame, or too scared to be adoptable. We are home to horses, donkeys, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, llamas, emus, dogs, and we even have a rescued pigeon and parrot. We are host to anyone who is underserved, at risk, or who have special needs. We currently host virtual private tours, birthday parties and educational field trips. For more info go to www.gentlebarn.org and follow The Gentle Barn on Face Book, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. You are sure to fall in love!
For more information, you can also email them at info@gentlebarn.org or call them at 661-252-2440.