If you didn’t see it yourself, you might think someone was trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Because really, having a large sheep as a pet? Feeding it in the kitchen along with the dog? Taking it for walks on a lead on the beach? Stroking it while you watch TV?
Un-baaa-lievable. In fact, ewe couldn’t make it up.
Yet there’s no bleating about the bush: Montana is a much-loved member of the household and gentle as a lamb when it comes to her best friend, Moonshine the Labrador – and it’s not hard to see why.
The dog has been instrumental in her very survival and the pair have been inseparable for four years, frolicking on the beach, eating dinner together and vying for the attention of the humans in the house.
For Binki and Gary Lees, who live in picturesque Pringle Bay in the Western Cape, watching their four-legged friends enjoying life together is reward enough for not giving up on Montana.
They adopted her in 2015 when she was an itty-bitty, sickly little thing. She was deemed too weak to survive but the couple were determined to give her a chance at life. So they hand-reared her, feeding her formula from a cider bottle and lavishing her with TLC.
And she grew stronger chop-chop. Now Montana, Moonshine, Binki and Gary are a regular sight in the seaside village the Lees moved to 12 years ago from Pretoria.
Still, you get the odd smart Alec trying to roast them when they’re out and about. “Walking your dinner?” a young man asks as Montana trots by.
“We’re used to remarks like that,” Binkisays, stroking the sheep’s head. “We just ignore them.”
The young man stalks off, looking a little sheepish.
Denne historien er fra 13 February 2020-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 13 February 2020-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William