The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Minty the Whangamata office lamb

Alison Smith
Alison Smith
Multimedia journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
15 Sep, 2020 10:35 PM2 mins to read
‌

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Minty the lamb takes a morning tea break at A1 in Whangamata where she's the office lamb. Photo / Bryn Jensen

Minty the lamb takes a morning tea break at A1 in Whangamata where she's the office lamb. Photo / Bryn Jensen

Minty may still wear nappies when she goes to work at A1 Homes in Whangamata but the abandoned lamb has quickly proven her worth in sales and marketing.

Minty was born a runt of the litter on the lifestyle block where her owner, Bryn Jensen, lives.

She was brought inside one day by Bryn's 14-year-old son, Mekhi, and immediately won both their hearts, despite having to be bottle-fed every two hours.

"She's the sweetest little thing, just adorable," says Bryn. "Most lambs would have run away when you walk or drive up to them, but she just ran up to Mekhi and wouldn't leave him alone."

Minty was half the normal size of a lamb, and son and dad took turns feeding her. But Bryn works at an office near Coastal News' office in Port Rd, Whangamata and realised the lamb would be getting hungry home alone all day.

"I didn't have the heart to leave her at home so that's when she came into the office and became the office worker."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was a rocky start.

"It was hard work at first, so I just went and got prem nappies and cut a hole in the nappy for her tail and pulled it through. The number of people coming in was amazing, she would just sit down and look out the window and you'd see people do a double-take when they walked past and they realised what they were looking at."

Bryn says she's attracted clients through the door and may even have been responsible for bringing them a sale.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We might've sold a home out of having her here."

But don't expect to see her this week at the office. Minty has already gone on holiday to Ngatea, where she's on loan to a 7-year-old who needed a pet for pet week.

Bryn says despite her name, he is making sure she gets home safely. "I definitely want her back, I couldn't stand the thought of her going into anybody's freezer."

  Minty the lamb takes a morning tea break at A1 in Whangamata where she's the office lamb. Photo / Bryn Jensen
Minty the lamb takes a morning tea break at A1 in Whangamata where she's the office lamb. Photo / Bryn Jensen
Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

The Country: NZ Shears preview with Sir David Fagan

09 Apr 02:05 AM
The Country

Council crisis meetings, emergency centres stood up as 'potentially life-threatening' Cyclone Vaianu approaches

09 Apr 01:32 AM
The Country

'Miraculous' survival: Local farmers rescue driver after car plunges into chasm

09 Apr 01:19 AM

Sponsored

Sponsored: The deposit myth putting Kiwis off building

24 Mar 04:35 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

The Country: NZ Shears preview with Sir David Fagan
The Country

The Country: NZ Shears preview with Sir David Fagan

Sir David Fagan, J Rowarth, Adam Thompson, Rhys Roberts, Grant Nordstrom, Chris Russell.

09 Apr 02:05 AM
Council crisis meetings, emergency centres stood up as 'potentially life-threatening' Cyclone Vaianu approaches
The Country

Council crisis meetings, emergency centres stood up as 'potentially life-threatening' Cyclone Vaianu approaches

09 Apr 01:32 AM
'Miraculous' survival: Local farmers rescue driver after car plunges into chasm
The Country

'Miraculous' survival: Local farmers rescue driver after car plunges into chasm

09 Apr 01:19 AM


Sponsored: The deposit myth putting Kiwis off building
Sponsored

Sponsored: The deposit myth putting Kiwis off building

24 Mar 04:35 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP