Merlin the therapy sheep’s a hit on Channel 5’s ‘The Yorkshire Vet’

Grace Olson’s therapy sheep are set to warm hearts on future episodes of ‘The Yorkshire Vet’ on Channel 5.

The last we heard about Merlin was that he was working as a therapy sheep along with Grace Olson’s other animals on her smallholding in Eccup, West Yorkshire. But destiny had bigger plans for this little sheep.

“It was pure luck that a friend of mine passed on my sheep agility videos to her friend who is one of the directors on The Yorkshire Vet,” said Grace. “She was hooked and called me to ask if I might need a vet and if so, could they come and film?”

As fate would have it, Merlin did have a stubborn issue with his ear following an infection so Julian Norton, TheYorkshire Vet, and the team popped over to help.

“It was such fun! As a farm vet used to dealing with large flocks of difficult-to-handle sheep, Julian was really surprised at how friendly and cuddly Merlin was. He even had a run around the obstacle course with Merlin which was absolutely hilarious!”

Julian and the camera crew were mesmerised by the interactions that they received from Merlin and the feature was a big hit on the current series.

“People love to see love’ and my sheep and I give that in abundance in our work as therapists. We work primarily with terminally ill people and it’s such a humbling experience to be able to bring joy to people who are living with such fear and discomfort.”

Grace’s big dream is to be able to provide free therapy for people who need help but can’t afford it and she is utilising her skills as an author to raise money to fulfil this dream.

If you would like to learn more about Grace and her therapy work, visit www.graceolsonauthor.com.

Ruminations of a Yorkshire Vet by Julian Norton is out now and will be followed by New Pastures for a Yorkshire Vet in autumn 2024 – extract in September’s The Country Smallholder.

Picture caption: Yorkshire Vet, Julian Norton, left, with Grace Olson and her sheep.

This article extract was taken from the August 2024 edition of The Country Smallholder. To read the article in full, you can buy the issue here.

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