Yannoula is a special needs young sheep walking with the help of a wheelchair. She desperately needs transport to her new forever home in a UK sanctuary. Ever since she was found as a tiny little lamb she has been living in an apartment in Irakleio, Crete.
She was a little lamb when she was found in December 2016 on the snowed mountains of Psiloritis on the island of Crete. Lame back legs and weakened. Away from the flock, maybe abandoned. Locals Niki Manolaki and Andreas Georgakopoulos could not turn their back to the poor little creature.
They took took her home and let the lamb be part of their family.
They bottle-feeded the lamb they called Yannoula (Little Joanna).
Members of the “Animal Loving Volunteers of Alexandria” constructed a wheel chair for the lame back legs. the lamb learned how to deal with the new back legs. With success.
By March 2018, Yannoula has grown into a healthy lamb lady who loves to wander around in the the place she meehs her home.
But life in a city apartment is not ideal for the former lamb that is now a sheep.
Niki and Andreas have found a sanctuary for the lamb in the UK, the “Retreat Animal Rescue Farm Sanctuary” in Kent where farm animals live without ending on people’s plates.
However, no airline has accepted so far the transport of live sheep – even thought the transport of a big dog would be zero problem.
For the last eight months the owners have been trying to bring Yannoula to UK. In vain.
“While it is legally allowed to travel by airplane, the airlines have so far gave us a negative response. Also, the efforts to transport her by road and free of charge by a transport company specializing in accompanying horses abroad has also failed, as the European legislation only allows licensed sheep vehicles to make this transfer,” Niki told media.
Yannoula’s owners asked the Veterinary Service of Heraklion to make an exception only for her as a special case but this request was rejected too. furthermore it is forbidden to transport the lamb by private car.
We do not stop the efforts to find a solution, the lamb can not continue living in the apartment,” Niki said.
Until a solution for the transport to her comfortable forever home, Yannoula enjoys the days with the family and the family dogs and full meals with clover and special food for sheep.
“She plays with our dogs and she follows us everywhere, she thinks we are her flock,” the owners say.
Yannoula is still a special needs sheep that needs special care. She wears diapers, needs daily bathing and special ointment for the prevention of sore wounds due to the paralysis.
So far the owners have bought three pairs of wheelchairs because as the sheep grows the aid devices need to be adjusted to the new volume of her body.
“We take her out as much as we can but it is difficult because we are professionals with full time jobs,” the owners says adding they are bound and they cannot go away “because we cannot hand her over to a friend for a couple of days; she is not a dog.”
Niki and Andreas say they do hope to find one airline for the transport. “We will pay for this, of course, and we will accompany her. We just need to hear a YES and we are ready to go!”
Until the solution is found, Yannoula spends her nights sleeping in a fluffy dog bed and dreams of the bright wide fields full of green green grass of new home in the English countryside.
PS so many readers from UK in this blog. One airline? A jet plane owner who wants to make a good deed? Someone with good connections to an airline board of directors? Anyone? Or a licensed vehicle to transport a sheep? Anyone? Anything?