Two young lambs with white coats and pink ears near a corrugated metal wall outdoors, possibly spring or summer, with greenery around. 2:22

To two rescue lambs, Brendon is their mom

Brendon spotted the two lambs in a long spell of New Zealand rain, running everywhere and frantic to find their mother. more

He marked them with non-toxic spray paint and kept an eye on them. By the end of the day it was plain that their mother was not coming back, and the lambs were in trouble.

So he picked them up. They were soaking wet and desperate for a drink. He warmed them up, and as soon as they had that milk, he says, they were like, "Well, you're my mother." By the next morning they were looking better and happier.

A small white lamb with large ears and dark eyes stands on a path, facing forward. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
After a cold, wet first day, the lambs are looking brighter by the next morning.

Their names are Heather and Isla, and they live with Brendon at Saint Beans Sanctuary. "They literally want to be with you all the time," he says. A lamb's instinct to stick close to its mother is a strong one, and he's the mother now. That first week he watches them closely. They have had a hard start, their immune systems aren't strong, and a lamb like that can go downhill fast.

They come through it. After the first week, Heather and Isla thrive, bouncing around like very happy little campers.

Two young lambs with white coats and pink ears near a corrugated metal wall outdoors, possibly spring or summer, with greenery around. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Brendon spotted the two lambs in a long spell of New Zealand rain, running everywhere and frantic to find their mother.

Before long, he says, they were the boss of him. Once they feel safe, they learn the feeding schedule by heart. Be even five minutes late and they go completely bananas, and he has to run into the house and shut the door before they try to break in.

Two white sheep stand close together on green grass near a road, with houses in the background. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Once the lambs feel safe, they are the ones in charge, right down to the feeding schedule.

They're hard to keep up with. He tries to catch the best moments on camera, but they move so fast that, by his count, 90 percent of it gets missed.

Their games are a riot, mostly because they're always trying to beat each other at something. In one, they jump up onto something high and see who can stay up there longest. In another, they zoom, to settle who is fastest. "That bond is definitely lifelong," Brendon says.

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