Eulogy for Thor

Thor as a little lamb. Doesn't he look a lot like his son Fritz?

Thor, the noble Icelandic ram, was put down yesterday at 9:43 am. 

I knew the time was getting close as he was becoming more and more lethargic.  After learning that his nasal condition was a genetic defect that was incurable, I faced reality and knew that one day soon he would have to be relieved of his suffering.  I had been successfully treating the symptoms of his genetic illness, but sadly there was nothing to be done for the root cause.  As it got hotter, Thor became more withdrawn. 

Yesterday morning I woke up and took care of things as normal.  This was the day that we planned on putting him down.  He got a few extra treats and I sat with him for a little while.  He enjoyed being petted and scratched behind his ears.  I cleaned him up a bit and took him for one last walk. 

What made Thor special was his gentle spirit.  Many rams are not gentle.  Thor was.  He enjoyed going for walks and hanging out with the humans.  He never was pushy or out of control.  He even treated the ewes well.  He loved to eat and go for walks. 

Last year, before he got sick, he would go deep into the woods.  This would sometimes worry me because I wouldn’t be able to find him.  I would bring out grain and shake it to call him back to the barn, but Thor wouldn’t come for that.  He had too much fresh grass to eat and couldn’t be bothered with grain.  He would eventually come back, but his wondering worried me.  One day, instead of calling out “THOR!”, I decided to call out “Baaaaaaa”.  Way out in the distant woods, I could hear a return call, “Baaaaaaa”.  I then would call back.  This could go on for five or six times and then Thor would emerge from the woods.  After that, I never worried again.  He would always come when I called him with “Baaaaaaa”.

He will be missed.