Today is all about sheep Artemis and Apollo!

Artemis (formerly known as Margo) and Apollo (formerly known as Horns) are survivors of Ashley DiFelice's cruelty and neglect at the former Twist of Fate property. 

Artemis/Margo was first rescued in February of 2018 along with her baby boy, Poe. Originally the farmer was only going to give up the baby, but was convinced to surrender them both. Margo herself was only 10 months old at the time. 

Apollo/Horns was originally rescued in January of 2021 as a skinny little ram who was in need of some TLC. 

Upon discovering the neglect that was happening at Twist of Fate, Margo was seen with overgrown hooves and panting from the intense July heat in her thick, overgrown, and matted wool that should have been shorn months prior. It's a miracle that she didn't die of heatstroke. Horns had overgrown hooves and was incredibly emaciated, so much so that his growth had been stunted. Both of them had already watched many of their friends die of dehydration and starvation. 

The image above is from the day they were found. They were found together, cowering in a dark and filthy stall. Who knows when the last time was that they felt the sun or a breeze, or felt grass underneath their feet. 

They were among those that were rescued that awful day in July of 2022, and after a 12 hour drive they were finally at their new home at Sowa Goat Sanctuary (@sowagoatsanctuary) in Massachusetts, USA. Their first day there they were so exhausted and traumatized that they didn't even want to eat and anxiously stood guard and just watched their new human family out of suspicion and fear, since that's all that they were left to think of humans in general after enduring so much abuse. They soon started to relax, lay down, chew their cud, and eat some treats though. Sowa removed Margo's ear tag and freed Horns' ears - they had pressure sores because they were trapped behind his curved horns and he was unable to move them at all (you can view this in the image above). He was also treated for internal parasites. Both sheep eventually became okay with affection and developed trust with their human family, though they are still healing mentally and psychologically from everything that Ashley put them through. 

Sowa named them Artemis (Margo), after the Greek goddess of nature, wild animals and protector of women and children, and Apollo (Horns), after the Greek god of truth, healing, and light. They are doing so well with their new animal and human family, and they will never need to be rescued again.

To see what Artemis and Apollo look like now and to watch videos of them happy and thriving, please give Sowa Goat Sanctuary a follow on their Instagram! If you'd like to donate to the care of Artemis & Apollo, you can send donations through their website here, Venmo (@sowagoatsanctuary), PayPal (sowagoatsanctuary@gmail.com), or CashApp (sowagoats). To make a monthly donation towards their care, you can join their Patreon for any amount (every little bit helps!). They also have an Amazon Wishlist and cute merch on Bonfire! Sowa is currently hosting a fundraiser for a special needs baby, so please go check that out on their Instagram profile. Please feel free to comment below as well to say hi to Apollo & Artemis or to Sowa. 

Also, if you sign up for their Patreon you can listen to the podcast that Olivia of Sowa Goat Sanctuary, Meg of Road to Refuge Sanctuary and Tiffany of Sleepy Pig Farm Sanctuary recorded about their experiences with the Twist of Fate cruelty case as some of the people that were first on the scene, and they also shared some stories and updates about the animals they rescued and that now live at their sanctuaries. They have a podcast where they discuss a variety of topics relating to sanctuaries, but you can listen to that episode here. 

A few of the animals' stories have been shared in previous updates - read about cow Rigel, pigs Shirley & Pepper, goat Billy, goat Johnny and his necropsy report here and here, sheep Linus, and horse Mint Paddy. 

Thank you for being here. Please stay tuned...Poe's story is next. 

Also, please continue to share the petition - Ashley DiFelice's next court date is September 14th, and since the court is aware of the petition we'd like to get as many signatures and comments on it as possible before then!