Building a bridge of understanding

The first few blog posts will be written by me; I'm a 26 year old former law trainee with an MSc in animal welfare science. Until recently I worked at the University of Glasgow as a research assistant in the thermal ecology group - don't worry, I won't go into the details of that here. I've always loved animals, so I'm delighted that I can spend a month or so at SABRC as a residential volunteer.

I instantly fell in love with SABRC. As I approached the main building for the first time, I needed to stop the car and edge forward slowly to let some defiant hens, ducks and turkeys move aside in their own time. Emily - a silkie hen - took longer to clear the driveway, as though daring me to take her on. It was immediately clear to me that she has some serious attitude. As soon as I got out of the car, two sheep (pictured, Paul - on the left - and Peter) came bounding up to me.

Peter and Paul are probably the most noticeable characters here. It felt strange to be welcomed by sheep, but in a good way; in a way that instantly challenged the engrained attitude I had, and I imagine many others have, that sheep are farm animals with little personality and nothing to offer humans beyond wool, meat and grazing capabilities. Peter and Paul could so easily have been two sheep like most others: faceless, nameless, short-lived; food. Instead, they were orphaned, and so now live as pets, albeit pets who live outside by day and in a barn by night. They have names that initially seem comical in their humanity. They are incredibly distinctive from one another both in sight and sound - I quickly learned to recognise their voices - Paul has a very high-pitched "meh" compared to the slightly older and deeper Peter. They follow enthusiastically on any dog walks, making the humans laugh by their goofy determination to be members of the pack. They are accepted by all four dogs on site at the centre (including two border collies) - maybe that acceptance is part of the reason that they will try to get into the house at any opportunity. Just be careful not to leave the door ajar, because Peter and Paul won’t hesitate for a moment about coming in and curling up on the sofa.

And so from the moment I got out of the car, I started to understand better the motto of SABRC: "building a bridge of understanding between human and non-human animals". It doesn't matter who the animal is; here, they are all treated equally with kindness and compassion, and I'm instantly excited to be a part of that.

#stories