It’s not quite a Christmas miracle, but it’ll do until another one gets here.
Gage, the lost Nebraska sheep who won the hearts of a nation when he turned up at an Omaha Humane Society clad in nothing but a Christmas sweater, has been reunited with his owners.
But his odyssey was long…and fraught.
Gage’s tale began late Monday night, when he slipped his bounds at the ranch and began roaming the great plains of eastern Nebraska.
By morning, he’d been found by a good Samaritan and taken into the Humane Society, which posted the above photo to its Facebook page, along with this amused caption:
Here’s something we don’t see every day! Over the weekend this sheep was found wandering the streets of Omaha spreading Christmas Cheer in his holiday sweater! Animal Control was called and brought him in. If you’re missing a sheep that enjoys wearing Christmas Sweaters he’s here at NHS. He’s not currently available for adoption, but we’ll let people know when he’ll be available.
The post ended with the soon-to-be-infamous hashtag #ChristmasSheep.
From there, the word spread like wildfire. Or, like a fire set to a giant pile or freshly shorn wool. It’s flammable, wool. Highly. People keep leaving it near their radiators and cigarette piles, and then you’re homeless on Christmas. Happens every year.
In any event: the power of social media knows no bounds. #ChristmasSheep took off on Twitter, and, late last night, Omahan Margaret Vazquez was reunited with her six-month-old.
“I was so happy that we got him,” she told Omaha.com. “I was worried that someone would eat him or something bad would happen.”
Vazquez said she believed Gage got out through a fence that’s still under construction. And she wasn’t aware of the furor his discovery had made, because she wasn’t online at all earlier this week.
As for the sweater? It ain’t no thang.
It’s like you dress your dogs up, your cat, but he’s just a sheep, that’s the only thing that’s different….I dress him up and put little shoes on him. He’s my pet, he’s my kid.
No, no, Margaret: That’s your other livestock.
Also: fun Nebraska fact for the day? Sheep are allowed within Omaha city limits, as long as you’ve got a permit.
