An adorable one-month-old lamb has been spreading delight by touring around care homes in the north-east.
Despite only being born on Valentine’s Day, Valais Blacknose lamb King has already been making an impression on hundreds of residents.
The little lamb has been spreading cheer after he travelled to seven different care homes across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
His travels have been organised by 23-year-old Christina Polson, from the Farm Stop in Portlethen.
The family-run farm is operated by her father Andrew, and together the duo have built a hands-on experience that allows visitors to meet all manner of farm animals.
Miss Polson first thought of the idea to go on tour with King after she visited a long-term farm worker “who is like her grandad” in a care home.
Robbie Rennie had suffered a stroke and, to cheer him up, Miss Polsen brought along pygmy goat Bilbo with her.
The other members of the care home were overjoyed to see the furry visitor, and soon after neighbouring homes found out and began requesting a visit of their own.
Now Miss Polson and King have visited Lethen Park in Portlethen; Stonehaven homes Edenholme, Mowat Court, and Clashfarquhar House; Eastleigh Care Home, Peterculter; Cowdray Club, Ferryhill; and Torry Care Home.
Response has been ‘truly amazing’
After visiting each care home, Miss Polson said that staff and residents alike have been “totally delighted” at the “truly amazing” happiness the animal brings.
She said: “He put instant smiles on their faces. Sometimes even tears of joy.
“It was good to hear a lot of the older people’s stories, many of them said they used to live on a farm and had not held a lamb since they were a child.
“Some of the people were city folk and had never held a lamb before.
“One person had written ‘I always wished I could hold one’ earlier in the year so it felt good to fulfill that dream.”
Miss Polson made the visits for free, despite running a business on farm tourism at the Farm Stop in Portlethen.
She said it highlights the benefits and joy animals can bring to all.
What type of lamb is King?
King is a Valais Blacknose lamb. They are recognisable due to their small black faces combined with soft white fleece.
Due to their fluffy nature, the sheep get sheared twice a year instead of the usual once.
The breed mostly lives in Switzerland and Germany, with only a few hundred of the animals living in the UK.
But over the past few years they have been increasingly growing in popularity due to their cute looks, which people often confuse for woolen mascots.
Unlike other sheep, the Valais Blacknose are highly domesticated and do not shy away from contact with humans – making them the perfect pets.
Miss Polson said: “They are quite like dogs, you can even see King following me along like a dog in the video we shot.
“Several people in the care home actually thought he was a dog at first.”
Meet King the lamb at the Farm Stop
Miss Polson and her dad Andrew have around 25 to 30 of the Valais Blacknose sheep.
The farm has already birthed around 150 lambs this season, with the number estimated to rise to 400 by the end of the year.
Miss Polson – a management and psychology graduate from St Andrews University – decided to open the farm shop last April after she believes the pandemic showed the importance of maintaining good mental health.
She is the sixth generation of farmers in her family.
The Farm Stop now has sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, donkeys, ducks, chickens and alpacas for visitors to enjoy.
It will reopen on April 1 after being closed for the winter.
Conversation