Reko

I worked so hard getting him ready for the show. I worked with him just about every day and I made sure he stayed at a good weight. I hated having to put him on a diet, but I did what I had to do. the show was finally upon us and I knew he was ready. He was perfect. He was my baby, and he knew it. My father had realized a few days ago that when you touched the lamb on the back, he flinched. Fear had filled me, but we thought nothing of it. My teacher shaved the lamb and didn't see anything wrong. But now, as I wash my baby in this cold water and he tries to get away I can see the long red marks across his back. Rage fills me as well as terror. I know what the marks look like, but I want to deny the truth. No one could do an animal like that, could they?

"It looks like someone hit him on the back with a pig whip," my father tells my AG teacher as she shaved off some wool she had missed. the truth I had tried to deny before, and he could actually say it. She simply shrugged it off, even as he crouched down in pain from the raizor going over his back. Why did she ignore the fact that he was in pain? How was I supposed to show him like that?

As I returned to the pen I put a hand to my head and cry a moment. Why did i let this happen? I knew people were cruel to him. Before, someone had thrown rocks at him, now they hit him with a whip. "I'm so sorry, Reko." I cry to him, hoping for his forgivness. I dry my eyes as Mrs. Blum walks up with a bucket in her hands. It was time to syringe him. I held his head tight in my arms, whispering softly to him as she shoved the long metal tube in his mouth and shooting the pink liquid down his throat. He squirmed, trying hard to be released from my tight hold. Three times she fed him this pink stuff that smelled strangely like alcohol. When she was done, I let him back in the pen and ran a hand along his back. He tried to run away and squatted down in pain. again, I began to cry.

The leash and the halter was taken from me before I went into the ring. I followed the people in front of me, holding on the the small creature beside me. I have one hand under his neck and one on the back, leading him beside me. The other lambs in front of me are lined up and put into position. I do the same, pressing my thigh into Reko's neck and pushing while pulling his head. It hurts, but I have to make him set up for me. He moved his back feet back a couple of steps and pushed against me, just as he is supposed to do. My legs shake from pushing against the dirt behind me and the lamb in front of me. I keep my eyes on the judge the whole time, just as I was told to do. My tongue is in my cheek, letting my father know I feel sick from being nervous. He is videotaping me from in the stands. Anger had fled me before I got out here and all I felt was the heat on my skind and the lamb in front of me. The judge was getting closer, and I was having troubles keeping my eyes on him.

Finally he is at my lamb and he starts at the shoulders, both hands placed and checking the lambs muscles. I pray to the Gods Reko does not flinch and try to run when the judge goes for his back. The hands were moved down. Reko's head is cradled in the curve of my elbow and i'm pushing him harder now than ever. He pushed back just as hard, but when the hands press on those long red marks on his back, he flinches slightly. The judge moved down to Reko's thighs, grabbing them as well. He moves on to the next lamb. I relax, but only slightly. We are not done yet.

ne lamb is sent to the front to stand before us. then another. Now the judge is checking for someone else to go up there. I know what he is doing. He is placing us in order, but from worst to best. I'm chosen next. I take my place behind the other two and let Reko rest. He seems happy to be able to relax a bit, but he knows how tense I am. Why am I the third from last? Why is Reko not good enough? More lambs are put behind me and someone comes by with a peice of chalk, drawing the number two on Reko's shoulders, for what class we are in, and the number fourteen on his back, for what place we got. 14th out of 16. Again, I feel rage, but only slightly.

Now the judge goes to the sixteenth lamb, the one only two lambs down from me. He talks to the lambs owner, telling the kid what was good about their lamb and what was bad. He continues to do the same with the one right next to me. Now it's my turn. He tells me he likes Reko's front, it's strong and well built. He alos says that Reko is sunk in in the back and he doesn't like pressure on his back. I resist the urge to scream out in fury. Someone ruined it for me. They WANTED to ruin this for me. Pain and anger chase off the sick feeling in my stomach and as he finishes the other lambs I quickly lead Reko to get his leash. I have to come back later to do the sale, but right now I can relax.

Too soon I have to take Reko back out there. At first I had thought that maybe he didn't set up very well, but now I know it was because of his back. Only twently lambs out of all five classes of sixteen get chosen to be sold. Reko didn't even get to go up and have a chance to be chosen. My teacher thinks we should put him on the resale trailor, and I agree to this.

My poor baby. Someone beat him and ruined his chance at being sold. Someone caused him pain, and in my mind i wish to find out who, but I also know that if I do, things won't be to pretty. He was my baby and for someone to beat him...it hurt. Who knows where he is now, slaughtered or playing happily with other lambs. My dad knows I hurt and he tries hard to convince me that Reko is happy somewhere, but I know the truth. Reko has no other role in life. No one would want a lamb that can't even be bred. I can only hope for the best.

As I watch the video I realized that Reko set up better than any lamb out there. The only thing that was wrong was his sides were sunk in. Mrs. Blum had not syringed him enough to fill those out, and she had refused to let me give him food. Also, when the judge went to touch reko's back, the lamb flinched. Otherwise, Reko set up for me perfectly, just like I had hoped. Someone ruined us, and I hope they feel terrible for what they did.