Our Friend, Krishna
09.02.2025
Our dear friend Krishna left this life last Sunday morning, 2nd February 2025. It has been difficult for us to process the shock of losing him. Our hearts hurt when we look at the field where he lived, still expecting to hear him call, before it dawns that he is no longer with us.
We were graced with is presence for ten years. We wish it could have been longer. Krishna died as he lived, peacefully and with dignity. He simply laid his head on the ground and stopped breathing. The beauty of his completely white body and his soulful eyes were still there, but the spirit of Krishna was gone. We had been treating him for pneumonia for the previous four weeks and although we were concerned that he wasn’t shaking it off, he had improved and one of his lungs had cleared on veterinary examination. We had every reason to believe that he would recover.
I always had an inkling that Krishna might not be very strong; it was one of the reasons he got so much extra care and attention. I also noticed how old he looked in the last year. Last Spring he looked a bit thin so he went into one of our hospital fields where he lived with Sadbh until shortly before his death when he was joined by Noah. Despite all of these concerns, we had no idea how close he was to the end of his life. For the previous twelve months, he had an enormous paddock of fresh grass when the rest of the sheep at Eden were still managing on hay. He had daily supplements and both grain and alfalfa. He also had one of the best barns at Eden. In fact, along with our vet we thought there was no reason to keep him in the hospital paddock and the only reason we left him was because he and Sadbh got on so well. In the end, despite giving him the best possible care, with many vet visits, he was not strong enough to fight the infection and continue living his life at Eden. It was a life that he loved and we treasured.
He was the only survivor of a mother who gave birth to twins. He arrived ten years ago, still wet from birth. Thankfully he was able to drink but it became obvious very quickly that despite being quite a large lamb, he was weak and ill. Veterinary care was not sufficient. I stayed in our hospital barn and fed him tiny amounts very regularly until he gained his strength and recovered.
Throughout his life, Krishna needed this kind of personal care. He craved our attention and brought us endless joy. Regardless of the company of other sheep on our sanctuary, he enjoyed human interaction. We had always planned that when the sad day came that he needed end of life care, he would live in the back garden where he would be closest to us. He left us so suddenly that he never got that chance. I think we will all miss his call most of all. Whenever Krishna saw us on the sanctuary, even if we were a long distance away, he would bellow in greeting. Each sheep has a unique voice and Krishna’s was instantly recognisable. He enjoyed the attentive care he received but he was also a carer in his own right. Whenever we needed to move a sick sheep into a hospital area, we would choose Krishna to be their companion because he was so gentle and such a loyal friend. People who know us know Krishna because he would come up in conversation regularly. It was difficult not to give him the most coveted places on our annual calendar on the front and back covers every year.
He had many good sheep friends over the years including Yoshoda, who arrived with him, the lambs he lived with when he first arrived, Holly and the late, Ben; Sadbh arrived not long after; and later on Stuart Hussey, Mungo, and Lizzie.
His death is a great loss to those of us who loved him. Strangely, along with our grief there is a sense of peace that only Krishna could bring. I have been wondering what that sense is about and I think it might be the very great privilege of being able to give him a place at our sanctuary the day he was born so that he never knew more than a few hours on a farm. He was never harmed, exploited, commodified, and he was spared the horror of slaughter. All he ever knew was our love and respect.
Nothing I can say about Krishna could possibly convey how integral a part of Eden he was. I can write about his very gentle character, how friendly and affectionate he was, how loyal a friend he was, how he used to continually wag his tail like a lamb, signifying his contentment and happiness in life, but none of it quite captures who he was or what he meant to us. He has left us with beautiful memories. We will remember him in our work at the sanctuary and in our advocacy efforts to help the non-vegan world recognise that every animal we use is an individual just like Krishna who treasured the chance to live.