Therapy sheep spreads love to homeless and seniors

Tonia Johnson's eyes locked upon the 2-week-old lamb that was up for sale at an auction house in Arcadia.

"She was so cute," said East County's Johnson, who was attending the auction to buy a few animals for a small farm that she and her husband, Daniel Johnson, own on Morgan Johnson road. "She was the size of a poodle."

She felt an immediate connection and all she could think about was somebody turning the cute, little lamb into chops.

She bid $50 even though a lamb was not in the plan.

No one else bid.

The lamb, who then was named Ivory, went home with her new mother.

Ivory was a "bum lamb," which means she had been abandoned by her own mother. Often when a ewe has more than two offspring, she turns away from the two who are not chosen because she doesn't have enough milk to go around. On farms, those rejected lambs often are bottle fed so they don't perish.

Two years later, Johnson admits she didn't understand the ramifications.

Perhaps she should have read this post on HobbyFarms.com, "Keep in mind, sheep are not solitary animals and need to be part of a flock. You shouldn’t buy a single bummer lamb unless you already have other sheep with which it can bond and learn from."

Johnson became not only Ivory's mom. She became her whole world.

Leaving Ivory out on the farm was out of the question. When Johnson would leave her for more than few minutes, Ivory would bleat uncontrollably. Johnson was concerned that if she spent any time away, Ivory would, indeed, die.

So Ivory became a house pet. She roams the house like any dog or cat, lays down on chairs, and sleeps on a dog bed in Tonia and Daniel's bedroom.

"I didn't know anything about sheep, slurry or hooves," Johnson said. "Sheep have hooves that have to be trimmed like you would a horse's hooves. I didn't know they have extra stomachs (four)."

She definitely didn't understand Ivory would have such separation anxiety.

"Now I am tied down," she said.

Since paying $50 for Ivory, Tonia and Daniel have gone on one vacation, to a bed and breakfast on St. George Island off the Florida panhandle.

"She got to go to the beach," Johnson said.

While she chuckled while talking about the beach, she noted Daniel is not so happy about having a 200-pound sheep controlling their lives.

"They have to be social," Johnson said about sheep. "They have that in their nature."

Fortunately, it wasn't long after Ivory became a member of the family that Johnson began to believe some greater force was at work.

The founder of the Freedom Gathering, which serves meals to the homeless at 1910 14th St., Bradenton every Thursday at 6 p.m., Johnson had to bring Ivory along with her. She immediately saw a healing property Ivory seemed to carry with her. Homeless people were smiling as they petted their newfound, puffy friend.

At every Freedom Gathering, where an average of 600 meals are delivered, the Gospel is taught and preached with meals. Ivory takes a seat on a chair during the sermon.

The sermon and the food weren't the only things making an impact. Those attending couldn't wait to see Ivory each week.

"Research tells us sheep can have a lot of empathy," Johnson said. "I think that is why she is ideal to visit the homeless.

"We were at Fort Hamer (Park) one time and Ivory went over by this dog. She won't normally go to dogs, but she went by this one and put her head down. The owners of the dog said they were on their way to put the dog to sleep because she had cancer."

Johnson has noticed that Ivory, who in general is afraid of wheelchairs, will go up to children in wheelchairs at the outlet mall.

"She was not trained to interact with people the way she does," Johnson said. "It's all natural."

It was so natural that Johnson decided to expand Ivory's reach. Four months ago, she met Cliff and Vicki Hofferbert who run the Homebound Ministry of Woodland Community Church in Lakewood Ranch. They have since visited 10 homebound adults or traveled to assisted living facilities with Ivory.

Earlier this month, it was a trip to The Sheridan at Lakewood Ranch.

"You just see the joy," Vicki Hofferbert said. "Even the dementia patients, when you see them, you feel that they get joy (from Ivory). And it's so unusual to see a sheep coming into a building, or going into an elevator."

The Hofferberts, who live in Greenfield Plantation, are big fans of Johnson's work.

"She has the most compassionate heart," Vicki Hofferbert said. "She just couldn't let that sheep get slaughtered. Now she takes Ivory to homeless shelters, to the beach, to the park. … It is so different."

Ivory is now a registered service animal, but The Sheridan's Ursula Szekely, a program director, was not overly concerned with that designation, knowing the impact Ivory would have on the residents.

"We're not opposed to pretty much anything," Szekely said. "You could bring me a sloth. We've had miniature ponies and many dogs, but this is our first sheep."

Skelely was asked to describe what it is like when the residents come into contact with a visiting animal.

"It is a feeling I can't explain," Skelely said. "I get goosebumps."

Johnson's grandson, 15-year-old Caleb Farnum, led Ivory into The Sheridan.

"I had to sheer her last night," said Farnum, who helps Johnson with Ivory's care. "We wanted her to look good."

Farnum led Ivory into the room of 90-year-old Marianne Heinz.

"Oh, are you going to eat her?" Heinz asked.

Farnum explained how his grandmother saved Ivory from the butcher.

"If I had a big medal, I would give it to you," Heinz said.

The smiles continued in every room throughout the visit.

When it was time to go, Ivory was loaded into a van for the trip home. She kept her eyes on her "mom," waiting for Johnson to get into the vehicle.

Johnson explained that she only gets to eat at restaurants once in a while when they can dine outdoors and the restaurant is OK with Ivory. She usually brings Ivory to the grocery store, but once in a while a customer freaks out.

They are challenges Tonia and Daniel deal with because Ivory has been the source of love and joy for so many.

They had better be OK with it. A sheep's life expectancy is 10-12 years.