Every once in a while I am reminded that my store is in a rural area. Yes, we’ve got turkeys and deer in the back yard, but I forget that customers are often farmers, and sometimes they’re new at it.
I got a call on Monday from a somewhat frantic woman who was desperately searching for Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep. It seems her first-time mamma ewe had rejected her twins lambs and my customer had her hands full. At first I couldn’t find the book. I took her number and vowed to call her back. I located the book, proving once again the Flying Pig adage: If you wait long enough, we’ll always find the book.
When I called Paula back she was so relieved. Apparently, she had called every bookstore, new and used, in a 100-mile radius of the store and no one had the book. She practically hugged the book. I guess raising two tiny lambs is daunting work.
I called my vet’s office to see if he could help. It seems he and the shepherds had been friends before he moved and he said he would call them. When Paula came to pick her book she looked absolutely exhausted. One lamb just wouldn’t take a bottle. She was worried for him. I made a suggestion of soaking a towel in milk replacer to see if he would take nourishment that way.
I have happy news to report. After a phone consultation with the vet who then dropped off medicine for the young lambs, Buddy and Leggy (Timothy, the lamb’s owner said, “he’s really just all legs”) are thriving young lambs who are running around the barn.
As I was hanging up with Timothy he thanked me for my help and said that only an independent bookstore would go to such lengths, and he lamented that his favorite had closed four years ago, “And there was nothing like it.” I understood what he was saying and took no offense. Every indie lost is felt by many in a lot of different ways.
While, I’m no James Herriott, I like to think I had a small hand in helping young Leggy live. Next week, I’m getting pictures of Buddy and Leggy; I can’t wait.