Good Shepherdess Of Wyoming

Photographer: Cat Urbigkit

Good Shepherd Mickey Thoman’s family has raised domestic sheep on the rangelands and mountains of Wyoming for more than 100 years, and at 82 years old, the matriarch of the Thoman ranch is still an active participant in tending the herds. Last summer there were twelve grizzly bears following one of the sheep herds as it grazed the mountain country, but Mickey stayed close by the herd’s side. Mickey spent nights sleeping in the cab of her pickup truck next to her herds in attempt to keep them safe.

Author/photographer Cat Urbigkit lives on a sheep ranch in western Wyoming, and enjoys learning from Old World pastoralists. This photo was selected by NPR and Pictory Magazine to feature in its show case in Local Legends.