True Buddy Special Needs Sheep Club

The True Buddy Program Is designed with animals to bring out the best of the human spirit. Through the assistance of sheep, kids are buddied up with special needs children. Creating an opportunity for our youth of any abilities or disabilities to interact with each other. Kids teach their True Buddy Club members how to work with their lambs and care for them. During the sessions kids lend a helping hand to their True Buddies and give them directions for an enjoyable experience with their sheep. The other element to this, that you can not forget....The Sheep! We have noticed over the years at the fairs, the Special Needs kids are drawn to the sheep. The next thing we notice was that when our sheep are around these kids, they become very docile like they know they need to be extra careful. The outcome of this program has been very memorable and heart touching! We will continue this program with another session starting in the spring of 2010 and finishing up with their very own Second Annual True Buddy Sheep Show at the Sarpy County Fair! Hope to see EWE there, to enjoy the night and show your Support!

The Katy True & Jewel Story

Where it all began..... 

 Last summer we went to the Nebraska State Fair Sheep Show, which we attended with three lambs. Two of our lambs, Rockstar and Superstar, as expected did very well. Our third lamb, Jewel, was a whole different story. You see, despite Jewel having a beautiful face, her body is not much to be desired in the sheep world. Even with diet and excersing, her body remains more in the shape of a cow then a sheep. At the fair, she was the heaviest ewe lamb there by twenty pounds. When she got on the scale to be weighed, all the men laughed! Out of the couple hundred lambs there, she even wighed more than all the boy lambs except for one. He weighed 172. Jewel weighed 171! When it came time for Jewel to show Sunday morning, there were quiet a few in her class. The judge had the kids walk their sheep around and set them up for him to look at. After examining all the lambs, he started with last place to first place. I am sure you can figure out where she ended up. Without hesitation from the judge, Jewel was in the very last place! Later that night after the show, our friends, the Trues, came to the fair. Their daughter Katy was with them. Katy has a severely disabling disease called Rhett's. It affects mostly girls that will develop normally until about 18 months old. Then deterioration of the brain sets in, leaving these girls in a body that will not function for them. However they understand everything going on around them; they are trapped in a body that cannot communicate for them. Katy is quiet an angel that speaks with her eyes! Knowing Katy loves animals, I asked if she wanted to show a lamb, like the other kids got to do today. We got out Rockstar and Superstar, but they were just too small and fidgety for Katy to reach them in her wheelchair. Then we got out Jewel. She was just the right size. Katy could reach her head to pet and could help hold the lead rope. Jewel escorted Katy to the show arena. It was very exciting. Katy got to take her lamb into the 4-H Coliseum where all the sheep shows are held, but this time the TRUE STARS were showing. What a wonderful job they both did. Katy with a smile on her face, Jewel very calmly and quietly stayed right  by Katy's side the whole time. (Anyone that has been around sheep knows that sheep are a strong herd animal. If taken from other sheep, they get extreamly stressed out and noisy. They are hard to handle.) Jewel never once made a noise or pulled the lead line out of Katy's hand! It was as if she knew this was her job to do! Later that evening, when everything was quieting down for the night, I walked over to Jewel's pen. I wispered to Jewel "You might not have won your class today, but you came in first in Katy's heart. Now I know what you are here for!!!" What A Pair of Jewels!!!!

 Our Visit to Papillion Jr. High

Spring of 2009

Children`s Hospital Respite Care Center

September 19th 2009

 The Beautiful Children Gallery

It`s All About EWE!

Photo`s by Ashley

Our Good Looking Sheep Gallery

Priscilla, Dime & BAAAAB 

Amazing Kids

The SOS Sheep Club