Charlie

finding sanctuary

December 13, 2025

On Saturday night, a bonded family of 4 sheep (Rory, Moose, Charlie, and Claire) arrived at the sanctuary. They are part of a larger family of 9 sheep, and the other 5 have a placement plan in place (and we offered our assistance should that fall through). 

The person who has been caring for the family of sheep is stepping away from farming. Often, when there’s a shift away from animal agriculture, or the farmer retires with no one in the family to carry on the farm, it’s rare for those animals to land at a sanctuary. There are just too few sanctuaries to accommodate all the different situations and circumstances that lead to displaced farmed animals (this situation being one of the rarer of them). 

Without safe placement, many farmed animals are at risk of being sold at auction or falling into the wrong hands, where their futures are uncertain and often tragically short. So, it’s extra special that we were able to help these four sheep. 

Today, with the help of volunteers Lindsay, Joseph, and Fran, Charlie and her friends were weighed, dewormed, and vaccinated. They also got a short-acting bloat preventive medication as they've had a huge change, travels, and have been stressed (all factors that put them at risk).

Each of their personalities is already starting to show, and so far, they are very gentle and sweet sheep. The two older sheep, Rory and Charlie, have cautiously come over to check me (Jamie, Executive Director) out when I've been in their house with them for a while. They creep over and give me a little sniff, trying to figure out if they can trust me. Rory and Charlie very much remind me of our lovely, shy Gracie. The littlest one, Claire, has Millie energy (aka a wild little speedster!), and Moose often plays the “if I can’t see you, you can’t see me” game.  

I’ll tell you all about each of them in future posts, so stay tuned!

For now, I’d like to send a big thank-you to everyone who supported them being “home for the holidays” by covering their hay for the winter through our “Bring Them Home For The Holidays” urgent action item. 

Urgent action items are found on our “More ways to help” page.

Thank you to Sam and Sarah, who joined Tim and me (Jamie) for the pickup, and Michelyn, who allowed us to borrow her trailer. Also, thank you to their previous caregiver who entrusted us to care for these precious ladies. It truly does take a community of caring folks to create a soft landing and happy “tails”!

Charlie got her name because of her distinct markings. Half of her is brown and white, which reminds me of Charlie, a beloved resident of Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary who sadly passed several years ago. She also has colouring around her mouth reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's moustache. 

Charlie might be the oldest of the flock, at 4 or 5 years old. She also has really distinct markings. Half of her is white; the other half is white with brown spots. 

While she’s still very skittish and scared of people, just like the rest of the sheep in her flock, Charlie is by far the most curious about us. If her family stands around long enough without one of them fleeing (which causes them all to flee), Charlie will eventually creep forward to check me out. This is a great sign and a promising first step towards trust. 

It will take a lot of time and patience to gain this bonded family’s trust, but how sweet it will be when they are relaxed here and know they are completely safe for the rest of their lives.

If you’ve been keeping up with the news about this sweet little family, you know that Charlie joined us from NS on Saturday, along with her three family members. The bonded family came to us because the person who has been caring for them is stepping away from farming.