“I’ve wanted to be a vet forever.
I knew taking the animal science CTE pathway in school was something that I had to do to get hands-on experience before college. By taking those classes, you’re automatically affiliated with Future Farmers of America (FFA). I began visiting the Bellaire barn in my junior year, and that’s when I knew that raising an animal is something I would want to do.
Having that one-on-one, everyday contact with the animal was very important to me, so I decided for my senior year that I wanted to raise a lamb.
To pick my lamb, they had a whole section in the cattle barns with all of the lambs in one pen. You pull a number to decide the order that you go in and I was third. They put you in the pen, and you have to choose the lamb you want. You have to grab them, get a hold of them, put the halter on yourself and take them to the lamb barn. It was probably one of the hardest things though; I was not expecting it to be that difficult, and I was sweating afterwards.
I was drawn to Millie because she was one of the calmer ones. I could tell from the other lambs that she would be the easiest to catch and halter. I was sitting in the pen with her and I had a whole list of names on my phone, and Millie was not on the list. I was just hanging out with her and I was like, ‘You are a Millie,’ and that’s what I went with.
The dynamic started off with her being absolutely terrified of me, just like all the lambs, for the first week. I couldn’t hand feed her for two weeks, and even then they’re so scared and it’s hard to get them to trust you. She really started trusting me in February, honestly, and the first month is always rough because they’re just terrified of everything. Lambs spook at loud noises or people they don’t know — sometimes they even like to stomp at them.
My daily responsibilities with Millie were driving to the barn every morning and night, which is about a 20-minute drive, 40 minutes there and back. In the mornings before school, I would feed her, change her water and go to school. In the evenings, I would be there for a few hours. Every night I would feed her, and for the first few months I just walked her in the yard on her halter.
Once she was halter broken, I started taking her on the treadmill to work on her muscles, like her loins, because that’s something judges really look for. She hated the treadmill so much, and she learned how to turn it off by pulling the string, so I had to figure out how to tie her so she couldn’t stop it, but even that didn’t always work.
Closer to the show, I went back to walking her around the yard, and I would also work on setting her up for shows, which is the stance you do in the ring to show off their muscles for showmanship.
For the show process, we had two show days and an auction day. The first show was a prospect show with Lamar.
When you go into the ring, you have to use your hands, which is really hard because they want to run away. But Millie was more settled by the end, so she did great. You walk them around the ring, then set them up from different angles so the judge can see different muscle groups, and then they come around and feel their back and legs, which is the hardest part because the lambs want to jump. Thank God she didn’t for the first show; she did really well.
Then there’s the market, where they judge based on meat, and that’s done by weight class. Millie was in the largest class: Class 3.
After that is showmanship, where they judge how we handle the animals, how we set them up, and how we present them. Millie got third in her class, so I was very proud of her. The second show was just with the Bellaire kids, and that determined the auction order, and she also got third in her class there.
I got very attached to Millie, and I knew that was going to happen. That was my mom’s number one reason for not wanting me to get an animal, especially a lamb. I was very lucky to have a private buyer who wanted to use her for breeding instead of meat, so she did not die, but it’s still really hard not being able to go to the barn every day and see her. Letting go of Millie was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I had to drive behind the trailer that was taking her away, and when our cars got to the gate and went separate ways, that was the hardest turn I’ve ever had to take. However, I’m so grateful knowing she’s going to live.
Millie ended up being the only lamb to survive because my dad knew a person from his work whose daughter was in FFA and had a barn with lambs, goats, emus and more. She was interested in taking Millie for breeding, so we got in contact with them, and that’s who she’s with now. I’m very glad she’s still out there.
My favorite memory with Millie is probably after our second show day. I sat in the pen with her and I was the last person in the barn. She was always chewing on everything, so she was chewing on my boots and my shirt, and I just sat there with her for two or three hours while she chewed on me and ate her food. It was great, and it was also when I knew I didn’t have much time left with her, so I was just spending as much time as I could.
The biggest lesson Millie taught me is responsibility. Having to get up in the morning and go see her at night was always top priority in my head. Having something that fully relied on me to live is a big responsibility, and it taught me time management. I had volleyball, homework and I’m in band, so I was juggling concerts and rehearsals. There were days I had to go to the barn before morning rehearsal, and it was a lot, but it was such a fun way of having that responsibility.
This experience definitely made me want to pursue my goal of becoming a vet even more. We had a vet come in and do procedures on some of the lambs, and I got to watch him give shots and learn about common health issues. It was really cool and I enjoyed it.
Millie is definitely happy now. I got in contact with the woman who has her, and she sends me photos and videos. She’s in an open field with other animals, and I’ve genuinely never seen her look happier. I hope I’ll have time with college starting to visit her, but I think eventually I will.
Millie is definitely one of my best friends. She’s my baby and always will be. I love her.”
