At about 12:40 on Friday afternoon, Laurie Hubbard received a knock on her office door summoning her to Penn State's sheep stables, where one of the pregnant ewes had begun "lambing," or going into labor.

Delivering lambs is one of Hubbard's many duties as the assistant shepherd at the Department of Dairy and Animal Science's Beef-Sheep Center on Orchard Road. She oversees the care of 550 to 600 sheep at the facility.

Hubbard, 26, remained calm as she prepared to deliver the lamb, filling a bucket with hot water and grabbing a bunch of towels.

Hubbard called the mother a "2002 model," or a sheep that was born in fall of 2001. She says she refers to her sheep the same way auto companies name car models.

"She has been moaning and groaning the last three weeks about being pregnant," she said.

The first indication of the new arrival was two little hooves. Hubbard helped the newborn by pulling out its front legs and head.

"You don't want to pull the baby all the way out; it is important to let it equalize to the pressure," she said.

Within minutes, the first of three lambs made its arrival. It is more common for sheep to have twins than single births or triplets, Hubbard said.

The second lamb put up more of a struggle than the first. Hubbard said that when she goes to pull the unborn lambs out, they sometimes feel like they are pulling in the opposite direction, she said.

She soon found out why the second lamb wasn't coming out as easily -- it was a breech birth, she said.

As soon as the newborn's entire body had passed through the birth canal, Hubbard quickly picked it up by its hind legs to let the fluid drain out, she said.

As the newborn lamb sneezed out fluid, a smiling Hubbard helped the mother sheep clean off the new arrival.

Hubbard added that she and the other workers typically do not interfere in the birth process, but they will assist the sheep "if complications arise."

A Bedford County native, Hubbard has been around sheep all her life. She grew up on a small sheep farm in Alum Bank, south of Altoona.

"It is always something I wanted to stay with," she said.

As a child she wanted to become a veterinarian, but she found that she was more interested in working just with sheep.

In the summer of 1997, Hubbard began working at the Beef-Sheep Center and transferred from Penn State's Altoona campus to University Park that fall, she said.

An animal science major, she was a College of Agricultural Sciences' Student Council member and part of the Block and Bridal Club, an organization involved with different livestock activities at Penn State, she said.

She graduated in December 2000, and within two weeks she was hired as the assistant shepherd, she said.

Dick Kuzemchak, head shepherd and Hubbard's boss, said she is very dedicated to the welfare of the sheep.

"She really gives each and every one of the animals the attention they need," he said.

Once a year, the sheep must be shorn, Hubbard said. Their hooves must be trimmed down as well, because they are in barn and do not wear them down naturally, she said.

They also must be de-wormed about every six to eight weeks because of their eating habits, she explained.

"With sheep, there is a lot of hands-on work," she said.

Hubbard said she is responsible for the care of purebred registered Dorsets, the breed housed at the facility.

Dorsets are an ideal breed because they typically reproduce in the fall and spring, she said. This allows students to do various types of research with them during the fall and spring semesters, she added.

Penn State also owns two smaller sheep farms located near Houserville, about five miles from campus, she said.

Although no current research is being performed, previous experiments have included the effect of chocolate on sheep's metabolism and pasture trials in which different types of grasses are tested for nutritional value, she said.

Hubbard said she receives help from 12 work-study or wage-payroll student workers. The students start out performing less technical jobs and learning more involved duties such as giving inoculations to the sheep, she said.

Even outside of work, Hubbard said her life is very much involved with sheep. She is treasurer of the Pennsylvania Sheep and Wool Grower's Association. She won the Lamb and Wool Queen title in 2000, a competition sponsored by the group. Her duties during her "reign," she said, included attending various sheep events and promoting the organization.

The group's mission is to promote and educate people about sheep. They sponsor junior shepherds' camps for 9- to 15-year-olds, which are two-day seminars that expose campers to the different aspects of sheep farming, she said.

Hubbard lives with her husband, Greg, in Bellefonte, along with their dog, Pepper.

Laurie Hubbard said she hopes to have her own farm someday -- a sheep farm, of course.

"As long as I have known her, sheep have very much been a part of her life," Greg Hubbard said of his wife.