Rupert Shaldrake
Sheep are not usually companion animals, but when lambs are raised by people, strong bonds can be formed.
Margaret Ralton Edwards and her husband, Richard, were owners of a lamb when some friends who were breeders of lambs discovered that one was ill, while still breast feeding, at their home in Cheshire. They cared for the lamb until he had regained his health over a period of four months, during which time the lamb lived inside their house.
Shambles was very adapted to the house and in the evening would sit on my knees to watch television. My husband, Richard, was on his way home between five and six o'clock in the afternoon. Approximately ten minutes before he arrived, Shambles was sitting next to the door waiting for him. Even when Richard would arrive in a friend's car, Shambles would wait for him by the door. Occasionally, Richard came home for lunch, at which time the same thing would occur with Shambles.
I have heard tell of two other people who have sheep as companion animals and who have had similar experiences. A lamb, Augustus, was adopted by the Ferrier family, of Whidbey Island, Washington, and he established a very strong bond with Grant, who was then fourteen years old, who feed him, who took him for walks and who played with him. Grant's father told me told that Grant came home from school at different times in the afternoon due to his various extracurricular activities, but that the family always knew when he was on his way home. "Augustus would liven up, would baa, and would run around his fold and gave every signal that something important was about to occur. Five minutes later Grant would arrive with his chums."
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