"Today is your day, you're off to great places, you're off and away"-Dr. Seuss
They come and they go, some stay longer than others, not one leaves here without leaving footprints on a place in my heart. After they go we love hearing from their new family about how well they are doing.
From plans to get a dairy cow, to plans to get pedigreed Nigerian dwarf does, to adopting 3 bottle raised wethers from the rescue. How did this happen for Isaac and Amber? Rocky.
Isaac and Amber attended an open house we had this past Spring with some friends who had adopted goats from us in the past. Rocky was a standout in our group of bottle raised kids this past year. Such a love. A total lap goat. And as you can see, it was love at first meeting for these two. Even though Isaac was formerly not convinced goats should ever be a part of his life.
"When we got home, I emailed Barbara and told her we'd like to adopt Rocky and another goat that my wife liked. Somehow in one day we had gone from getting pedigreed dairy goats in another year to getting a couple rescued wethers in another month" -Issac
Two goats, Rocky and Spyder, turned into three when they couldn't resist the charm of Bode, the last Nubian kid on the farm. The three boys left us for their new home a few months ago and couldn't be doing better.
"They were so excited when they saw the pasture because it hadn't seen any goats for a few years and was four feet tall in blackberries! They went to work right away turning leaves into poop and haven't stopped since" -Isaac
My favorite part of this story is the lounge chair in the pasture big enough for all the goats to be lap goats. Every night they snuggle and get brushed before bed. Pretty sure a dairy cow wouldn't be quite the same snuggler. And as you can clearly see, any doubts Isaac had about goats are long gone.
Seeing all of our rescues adopted is rewarding but there is something special about seeing slaughterhouse rescues getting a second chance at life.
Mickey was discovered at a local slaughterhouse during a rescue. A few days old, workers were (unsuccessfully) trying to bottle raise him, he was rescued and raised at a foster home. A yearling now, this summer we paired him with Mack a gigantic 6 year old Nubian. Mack was recently returned to the rescue and lost his companion unexpectedly. The two became fast friends. When a wonderful family called looking for companions for the goat they had adopted from us 9 years ago, we thought Mickey and Mack would be a good fit. And just like our previous story, two turned into three and Kit (a Nigerian dwarf, former breeder show goat who was rescued from the slaughterhouse back in July) found her forever home too.
Dixie, Mack, Mickey and Kit
A few days after they arrived home they got to hang out with their new family at their annual Labor Day BBQ. They are settling in well with their new friend Dixie. When Dixie wanted to let her place be known to Mack, pushing him around, Mickey came to his defense, pushing Dixie around. I smiled at the thought of one year old Mickey coming to the defense of Mack, one of the biggest goats I've ever met.
Behind every rescue there are compassionate people dedicated to the rescue and healing of these animals. But it doesn't end with us. The circle would not be complete without the families that seek out rescues, that give these animals a second chance at the life they deserve. For that, we are so very grateful.
"You're off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting so get on your way" -Dr. Seuss
The victory walk for Roman the llama....from the slaughterhouse, to the rescue to a new lifelong home