Hello! Dolly, media super star and world record holder here! At 23, I’ve recently been hitting the headlines on TV and in print as the oldest sheep in the world. So I’ve been chosen to speak for all the non-horsey animals who have also found a safe haven with the Trust. . I know I don’t look it, but I’m 23 and still have all my own hair and teeth and not a wrinkle in sight! I also keep the other animals in order – I push the horses out of the way when I fancy a nibble from their feed buckets and keep the goats on their toes by taking over their shelter when the weather is bad.

Here at the Trust to stay, we couldn’t be looked after any more at our previous homes for lots of different reasons. But we are all one big happy family now – sheep like me who arrived after our owner had passed away, as well as goats, hens, geese and even two little piggies!

Let me introduce some of them to you. They are all available for sponsorship.

Sheep

Living with me and 20 other sheep, my three favourite chums are Crackers, plus Joseph and Mary.

At 11, Crackers is just half my age and certainly lives up to her name – mad as a hatter! She’s quite nervous, especially around people and prefers not to be touched.

Sparky is just 10 years old. He is a bright spark, friendly and clever (although not as clever as me).

Suzy the Soay sheep, was kept in a field on her own before coming here. It has taken her two years to slowly get used to living with us. And she is a bit of an escape artist. If there’s a gap in the fence, she will find it!

Joseph and Mary are 4 years old and were bottle-fed lambs, who were once kept as an attraction at a farm shop. They have settled into the flook really well and Joseph is especially friendly and likes people a lot.

Goats

Three goats live here.

Daisy is 14 and a Toggenberg. She’s our ‘meeter and greeter’ – a job that was made for her as she’s very sociable and likes to check in with Trust visitors – especially when they give her head a good scratch! Don’t ask me why, but she takes a special fancy to chips from the chippy – preferably without salt and vinegar though. She also likes cabbage (yuck!)

Eve is 11 and a bit shy – although she does like a fuss from people she trusts. Her favourite food is sheep pellets … Boring – I much prefer apples myself!

We aren’t sure how old Hugo the pygmy goat is as he was stolen and kept chained up, before being rescued and brought here. He’s now very cheeky and a bit bossy – although I tick him off when he oversteps the mark.

Hens

The hens all live in Sharon’s garden. The two prettiest in my opinion are Nugget and Lavender, 3 year-old Peking Bantams. They do love their grapes as well as sweetcorn. Living alongside them is Rambolina an Indian Runner Duck/Mallard who thinks she’s a hen. She has her own little pond – well, a children’s paddling pool really – and goes to the back door, loudly quacking to demand treats – she loves spinach leaves.

Geese

There are also four Embden geese here too – who make a right din when strangers arrive I can tell you! They include lovebirds Jim (4), Molly (2). They were re-homed when an old lady couldn’t care for them any more and were quite thin and dirty when they arrived. Quite fat and snowy white now though!

Pigs

And finally, our latest recruits. Two Kune Kune pigs called Smokey and Bandit. Since arriving here early in the new year, they have been kept really busy using their snouts to dig up the vegetable patch which had got very overgrown. Its looking so much tidier now. They are a bit of a handful when they want to be and really noisy neighbours sometimes. When they escape, they really give the humans a run around, which is great fun to watch – I had no idea pigs could run so fast and they can spin on a sixpence. Two very slippery customers!

You can sponsor me and any of the chums I have named – which also means you can come and see us on special open days each year.

Must dash – I see food buckets arriving!

Dolly