This story was originally published on my vet school blog, “Wet Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
Or, “Why Livestock is Kept in the Barn.”
A nice family came in to the hospital last week to ask whether we could board three Angora goats for them. The family was in town for the annual Wool Market, and had thought they’d be able to keep their goats one more night at the fairgrounds. Turns out the fairgrounds needed to boot everyone out on Sunday, meaning the goats would be out on the streets unless they could find somewhere to board them for the night.
“They’re only this big,” they said, holding their hands apart to indicate a critter the size of a small Thanksgiving turkey.
They seemed like really nice people. Being the animal suckers that we are, we said yes. Plus, how much damage can a mini-goat do?
This morning I discovered why we traditionally keep goats outside. Not only were they smelly, they’d managed to get hay everywhere, pee everywhere, and leave quite a few goat-pies. And they were about twice as big as the family had said they’d be (through no fault of the family’s, since they’d purchased the goats sight unseen), which meant more kennels than we’d anticipated.
The upside: they were really flippin’ cute. And, being the animal sucker that I am, I actually didn’t mind cleaning up after them since I got to hang out with goats for a bit, which isn’t something I usually get to do. And the family was very appreciative, which is always a plus.
But I don’t think we’ll be boarding hooved animals in the future..
P.S. Two of them were female, so technically there was only one billy goat Gruff. And I think his name was Gideon, not Gruff.
