The Story of a Boy and His Lamb...

It all began in January. Our neighbor is in charge of the 4-H program for our area, and he convinced us to allow Alex to join 4-H and purchase a lamb for him to train and sell at the Livestock Show in April. Anyone who knows Alex knows he adores animals and was excited beyond words for this opportunity. The lamb cost $150 dollars, so we told Alex that he would have to pay for the lamb and the cost of feed by himself. He has a cash-value life insurance policy that he was able to borrow from for the purchase, and it turned out to be a great investment for him. (We were also happy for the teaching opportunity about going into debt and interest--he will not be able to keep all of his profits because he has to pay back his policy first.)

Well, "Bullet" arrived on January 16th, and Alex was instantly bonded to his new friend. Here he is trying to get better acquainted with his lamb, who was a little scared of him.

He fed and trained his lamb for 3 months. It was a lot of work for Alex because he had to get Bullet to a point where he could lead him around by the head without a halter. For anyone who has worked with lambs, you know that they can be quite stubborn. It takes a lot of patience and diligence to get the lamb to follow easily.

Finally, it was time to get ready for the show. Alex had to bathe and shear Bullet to get him looking his best.

Here is Alex washing Bullet in the rain. He even let McKenna get in on the action. I think they are more wet than the lamb.

Next, it was on to the shearing. Bullet looked very different without all of his wool.

It's show time! Alex and Bullet were ready to show the judge all they had practiced.

Alex did such a good job in his first livestock show! During the showmanship portion of the competition, which is where he was judged on how well he handled his animal and his knowledge about lambs, he advanced to the Star Class. This class was comprised of the top kids from each round. He ended up 6th place overall--which was great for a first-timer! During the Market Class competition, Bullet was judged on his "meat quality". Again, they advanced to the top class and Alex and Bullet ended up in 2nd place in the lightweight category! It was a great day for Alex--all of his hard work paid off!

The next day it was time to sell Bullet in the auction. Alex sold his lamb for $375.00, which was better than what most of the kids received. It was a bittersweet time for him, as he had to say goodbye to his friend. All-in-all, it was a good experience for Alex, and he can't wait until January when he can start all over again!