What’s an overfed and well-loved ram to do?

Referred to as a local hero in Langley for keeping the sheep population booming, Romeo has grown accustomed to receiving a plethora of offerings from adoring fans in the form of fruits and veggies.

“He’s just a local ram,” said Vance Tillman, who manages Romeo’s career in the ewe romance industry.

However, the overindulgence recently gave the lone romantic, who resides in an enclosure on Sixth Street, a tummy ache.

“There for a few days, he had eaten so much,” Tillman said. “He was barely moving. Normally you throw an apple out there and it’s gone.”

During a check-up with Romeo’s doctor, it was determined that he should be eating smaller portion sizes. Sandi Farris of Harmony Veterinary Services examined Romeo and wrote a social media post to get the word out to his admirers.

“His annual exam has revealed a couple of things: 1. He’s a bit portly. Think dad-bod in wool; and 2. His eyes are bigger than his four-chambered stomach and he has a bad habit of overeating these yummy treats and getting really sick,” Farris wrote in her Facebook post.

Tillman is asking for people who come by with snacks to leave them in a bucket outside of the fence. That way, the amount Romeo is fed can be better regulated.

Romeo’s manager also asks for rhubarb, grapes and rhododendron leaves to be left at home, as they are not good for the ram.

Bamboo is also not good because it could potentially puncture his stomach.

Romeo is around 5 or 6 years old and belongs to Joyce Fossek, Tillman’s mother-in-law. He is the only ram within Langley city limits that Tillman knows of.

In mid-October, Romeo will be turned loose with nine ewes to perform his natural duties. Five months later, there will be a new flock of lambs.

The handsome hunk is a cross between a hair sheep and a wool sheep, Tillman explained, which gives him his unique coloring and mane.

Romeo is the only known ram within Langley city limits. Photo by Kira Erickson/Whidbey News-Times