17 Nov 2025
Gemma Bragger described helping Dave recover as ‘one of the most rewarding things’ of her nursing career.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
An RVN has hailed a “miracle” sheep she helped to walk again after it was given “no hope” of recovery.
The sheep, named Dave, a resident at Albert’s Horse Sanctuary in South Yorkshire, was found cast in May with a pair of “horrendous” pressure sores, with an x-ray revealing he had spondylosis of the spine.
After it was determined it would be too expensive to treat Dave over a lengthy period, RVN and sanctuary volunteer Gemma Bragger stepped in.
The Vets Now Sheffield nurse spent around two months providing daily wound debridement and bandaging for the 90kg sheep, who required a special steel frame hoist to lift him for treatment.
The frame also encouraged Dave to get his feet on the ground, and after showing improvement thanks to a lot of gentle physiotherapy massages, he was donated a wheelchair in August by Winston’s Wheels, a charity that provides mobility aids for disabled dogs.
Dave continued to improve and – after four months off his feet and seven weeks in a wheelchair – he stunned sanctuary volunteers by getting up and walking unaided in September.
“He is a miracle,” Mrs Bragger said. “I was so determined [to treat him] because he is such a character, one of the friendliest sheep I’ve ever met.”
She added: “It was one of the most rewarding things I have achieved in my career to see him go from being totally off his legs and having no feeling in the back ones to walking totally independently around the farm hunting for treats.”
Mrs Bragger had not previously treated pressure sores. She continued: “The experience was absolutely invaluable; it taught me to have patience with wounds and to trust that I have the knowledge and experience from nursing small animals to transfer over to larger animals.”
