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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Grace Olson

HISTORICAL FACTS: The pet i ll never forget merlin the therapy sheep - The Untold Story

A woman and a sheep looking directly into the camera
Grace Olson and Merlin, in Eccup, West Yorkshire. Photograph: Courtesy of Grace Olson

Merlin the sheep came to me by chance four years ago. A friend of mine had a lamb she was bottle-feeding, but she couldn’t look after it any more so she asked me if I could take care of it. I live in Moortown, Leeds, and rent about three hectares (seven acres) of land in Eccup, a small village nearby, where I’ve kept horses for about 13 years. I needed some help clearing the weeds that the horses wouldn’t eat and sheep seemed like the best solution because they’ll eat anything – so I said yes.

The lamb was called Bambi and when I came to collect her, my friend offered me another lamb, Merlin. Shortly after, Bambi died and it was just Merlin left. It wasn’t long until he started to show his special powers.

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