For The Love of an Old Goat
It's been too long since a post was put on this blog. A lot has changed in the world and also on this little hobby farm I call home. For me and Crow's Croft Farm, 2020 brought a global pandemic and the end of my marriage. My now ex-husband relocated to Wyoming and me and the critters here on the farm set about adjusting to a new rhythm and balance of life. Compared to most, I cannot complain on either case. In relation to the pandemic, my day job is secure and, being a long seasoned telecommuter, my day to day life was not significantly changed. The decision to end my marriage was by no means easy, but as far as divorces go, it was amicable. Phil and I had come to the conclusion a life together was no longer possible with both of us being happy. Efforts were made, but those efforts only drew us closer to the decision that parting was better for both of us, and so, in July 2020, our marriage was officially over.
I've spent the months since then
reflecting and allowing myself the myriad of emotions that go along with ending
an 11 year relationship and 4 year marriage. There was the hurt, the anger, the
tears, and, as there usually is with me in tumultuous times, an ever present
determination to wrestle the uncertainty into some form of manageable
situation. A lot on the farm has remained unfinished or gone to the wayside
over the past few years and I threw myself into addressing what I could
immediately. The summer of 2020 was spent not only packing up the items that
would accompany my ex-husband on his four different trips back to his new home,
but also spreading gravel, fixing fences, splitting firewood, scraping
paddocks, and making as many dump runs as I could manage to clear the house and
farm of the debris that had collected over seven years. When Phil made his last
trip back to Wyoming, I set to work going through what remained with the help
of my loving family and friends. There is still much to do, but progress has
been made and I am proud of what has been accomplished. I expected that the
work and site of the progress would help with my healing. What I didn't count
on was the other effects it would have on me. With each step forward came an
awakening of my creativity and an urge to return to doing some things I had
once loved, but had set aside years ago. Put plainly, my desire to write again
and regularly has come back in full force and, with the encouragement of a new
voice in my life and the insistence of one that has been around for awhile, I
have started to let the words and ideas find their way out of my head and onto
the page. The most logical place to start seems to be this blog and so I am
starting it up again in the hopes that it may continue to entertain those who
have followed it previously and those who may find it now.
The productivity on the farm this
last year brought me some peace, but there was only one thing that provided me
comfort then and now - the animals on the farm. While I have shared the stories
of some of the furry and feathered friends that live on this little 8.5 acre
paradise I continue to build, I have by no means told all their stories and so,
I think it only right to start this blog back up with a story about one of the
farm's biggest personalities.
Meet Percy the Goat.
As you can see by his picture, he was quite the character and he was a farm favorite for all who visited thanks to his charm, love of affection, and flirty behavior towards any woman or girl who crossed his path. I speak of him in the past tense because he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on August 2, 2020. A sad day to be sure, but I am positive he trotted over that bridge happy as can be excited to meet new friends and see those who preceded him. If there is anything I have learned from my animals, its to treasure the time they are with me and to not take it for granted. Those times only bring good memories and often great stories that get told over and over again by those who witnessed them. There are many stories in the life of Percy the Goat and sharing them will only make him live on in a way.
Percy came to Crow's Croft farm in
2014 along with his goat brother Nutmeg and Tangi the llama. Phil and I had
built a large pasture/paddock area attached to the old shop that stood here on
the property originally. It provided some shelter for the animals and a place
for us to store hay in the winter. We had already adopted two feral alpaca and
had been asked by a dear friend of ours if we would be interested in taking on
the goats and one of her llamas as she was preparing for retirement and trying
to downsize her herd. These were the first animals we introduced to the farm
and it was all new and exciting.
The goats, Percy and Nutmeg, had
very distinctive personalities. Nutmeg was very reserved and gifted his
affection and devotion to particular people. Percy loved everyone, especially
women, and was more than happy to trot up and greet whoever might be visiting
his paddock. Both goats had been hand raised by our friend Glenda and they were
very bonded to her. When she brought them to the farm, it was a hard day
for them and for her, but they soon settled into their new home.
Tangi the llama had come with them
and the two alpaca we had recently adopted, Sherlock and Watson, also shared
their paddock. It didn't take long for the small herd to sort out their pecking
order. The goats, through this entire process of postering and dominance play,
seemed completely removed. They were simply too busy playing, eating, or
fawning over Tangi. Having been raised with the llama herd at Glenda's, Percy
and Nutmeg had bonded with a female llama who doted on them and treated them
like her young. Sadly, that female llama had passed away a couple years before
and the two goats had been seeking the same level of attention from the other
female llamas in Glenda's herd ever since. Tangi was the least likely to allow
this given her diva personality, but in this new scenario, she soon softened to
the two goats, especially Percy, who simply didn't take no for an answer when
requesting her affection. Over the years, Tangi even stopped pretending she
didn't like Percy's doting and we even caught it on camera a few times.
Tangi wasn't the only one Percy won
over with his insistence for affection and attention. He won the hearts of
everyone who came to the farm to visit, even those that didn't particularly
want to be won over. A good friend of mine, Amy, had come to the farm one day
to collect a few buckets of alpaca manure for her garden and she insisted on
joining me in the paddock to fill the buckets she'd brought despite her unease
with the goats in particular. Amy had had some not so great experiences in her
childhood involving an old billy goat and had avoided contact with them since.
Little did she know, she was just Percy's type. Pretty and clearly intent on
avoiding him, she only uneasily patted him on the head when he came up and said
hello upon us entering the paddock. Percy followed us to our destination, his
eyes fixed on Amy. I could see my friend trying her best to avoid his gaze and
behaving much like a woman uncomfortable by the attention of some creepy guy in a
bar. As we started to shovel, Percy sauntered up to Amy and leaned his head
into her side, gazing up at her with adoration. I tried to deter him and take
his focus off her, but to no avail. Percy was determined. He would push his
nose up under her elbow as she was shoveling and even once slid his head under
arm, pushing his head into her stomach and gazing at her again with nothing but
love. Amy started to give into the charm a little bit and finally sighed and
scratched his ears, which only made him lean into her more thoroughly pleased
with himself that he had made progress in winning her over. She even chuckled a
little when he nudged her again when she stopped scratching.
"Ok, Percy, " Amy said,
"It's nice to meet you too. I have to finish this now." She set back
to her shoveling and quickly thwarted Percy's attempt to dip back under her
elbow. Then, before either of us knew it was happening, Percy lightly nipped
Amy squarely on the buttocks causing her to yelp and turn around quickly saying
sternly, "Excuse me! That is a dinner date and three drink minimum, my
friend!"
She was met by my doe-eyed goat
gazing up at her lovingly as he leaned his head into her stomach and demanded
more scratches behind his ears. I laughed and told her to keep giving him
attention or he'd probably goose her again and I collected the manure for her.
By the time we hauled out the buckets, Amy was won over and Percy besotted and
doting.
Percy had a love for the ladies to
be sure, but he was quite the Mama's boy as well. I attributed his affection
for women to his bonding with Glenda as she hand raised him from just a kid and
I was delighted to see him form a strong bond with me as a result. Percy not
only flirted and cuddled with you, he also loved to give kisses and was always
up for a photo opportunity. He could lift your spirits by just a gentle nudge
or by leaning into you. On many a bad day, Percy was the one thing that made it
better, simply by being himself and greeting me at the gate, bellowing for his
breakfast or dinner, and insisting that my woes could be wiped away with a goat
kiss or by scratching his ears.
A couple years after the goats had
joined the farm, Nutmeg fell ill. My livestock experience up until this point
in my life had been centered around horses for the most part so when Nutmeg
developed what appeared to be a case of bloat, I felt completely outside my
element. Thinking it might be like colic for a horse, I kept Nutmeg up walking,
insisting he stay on his feet late into the night as we waited for the vet to
arrive. When the vet did arrive, he treated Nutmeg for bloat and what seemed to
be a recently passed urinary tract stone, gave me some strict instructions for
diet, taught me how to give him injections for pain meds. I couldn't sleep
that night, so I spent most of that night in the shelter with the goats. I
remember Percy laying down next to me in the hay and putting his head in my lap
when I would rest and walking alongside me and Nutmeg as we wandered the
paddock, making sure his gut was working.
Goats have four stomachs and one,
the rumen, is where a lot of their digestive flora exists. If something is off
or not working in the rumen, their system can shut down. Nutmeg appeared to
improve a little when the vet checked in, but not by much and the probiotics
prescribed had little to no effect. If we couldn't get Nutmeg's rumen working
again, he would die. To my surprise, rather than suggest another probiotic or
method of medication, the vet suggested we make Percy the hero of the day and use
some of his rumen fluid to "jump start" Nutmeg's. Percy was a good
patient as he was sedated and a tube inserted through his mouth down into his
rumen. Some of his rumen fluid was pumped out added to warm water and then
pumped via a similar tube into Nutmeg. I was told we would see a difference in
hours. I had already done my research since Nutmeg had fallen ill and knew what
signs indicated working digestion. Goats actually belch quite regularly if all
is working properly. Gut noises are a large indication as well and can easily
be heard just by placing your ear against their belly. If a goat stops chewing
their cud, that is a sign something is amiss. Nutmeg had stopped chewing his
cud several days before and I had not seen regular defecation, urination, or
heard a belch either, so you can imagine my relief when after a restless night
following Percy's donation to his brother Nutmeg, I walked out to find Nutmeg
not only eating, but exhibiting all the signs that indicated his rumen was
working again. I never thought I would be so happy to see a goat poop! I
followed the vet's instructions to the letter and spent my mornings wading
through underbrush around the property clipping the greenest blackberry leaves
I could find and gathering grass and other forage that would boost Nutmeg's
digestion. Percy, being the hero, got his own fair share of goodies and
treats.
Nutmeg enjoyed a lovely Spring that
year, but the success was short-lived, and in June of 2016, Nutmeg went down
and refused to get back up. Old age and infirmity had won this time and, with a
broken heart, I had Nutmeg put peacefully to sleep. Herd animals usually need
to see a member of their group has passed into order to not look for them or
seek them out. I've seen this often with horses and it is truly heartbreaking
to witness, but necessary. After Nutmeg was put to rest, Percy was let into the
stall with us so he could see Nutmeg was gone. I will never forget watching
sweet Percy sniff Nutmeg and then look up at me as I stood by crying and
heartsick. Seeing my distress, he walked up to me and reached his head up
towards my face, leaned into my chest, offered a goat kiss and refused to step
away until I had stopped crying and accepted his comfort. This was not the last
time Percy saw me through tears over the years.
Full size Nubian goats, like Percy,
live on average a max of about 12 to 13 years if they are not processed for
meat. When Percy reached 14 years old, I counted my blessings to have had him
so long and began to dread the day he would go down and not stand back up. By
this time, he was extremely arthritic and showing his age. Winters were hard
for him and I had purchased a goat coat for him to help keep him warm which he
accepted with equal gratitude and annoyance. Every morning as I left the house
armed with apple slices or marshmallows and his arthritis medicine, I would
hear him bellow as he spotted me and smile as he did his best to trot
over to me, tail wagging all the way. When he turned 15, the livestock vet
during a routine checkup shook her head and called him "an anomaly".
She had been called out a few times for emergency visits for Percy, all that
turned around quickly. The vet and her staff always came prepared on
routine visits for the difficult process trimming his hooves had become,
especially with his advanced arthritis. He struggled to stay standing on three
legs for any period of time and required a lot of support. After a while, we
got him to lay down and trimmed his hooves that way. Percy would allow it, as
long as he had a pretty, female technician to flirt with.
I usually wait for my animals to
show me or tell me they are ready to leave, but Percy was not giving me any
indications that showed me he was ready to cross over. Instead, every morning,
he would greet me at the gate with a bellow, excited for his apple slices or
marshmallows, and demand scratches. On the days that I cried over my failing
marriage, often out on the farm so I could grieve without being noticed, Percy
was always there leaning his head up onto my chest offering his goat kisses to
make me feel better. His arthritis had progressed to the point he had
significant difficulty getting up off the ground after sleeping in his bed of
hay each night and cold mornings he struggled. Soon a cough developed too that
shook his whole body in great heaves and he started to resist taking his
medicine despite the treats that accompanied them. He was taken on walks for
fresh forage as spring came and he enjoyed that, but didn't like being far from
Tangi and the uneven ground was hard for him to traverse with his painful
hips and legs. I started giving his hips a good massage each time I was in the
paddock and he would lean into the pressure, sticking his head out and flapping
his lips in happiness by the relief it brought. Despite how much it broke my
heart to think on it, I made a decision that I would not take him through
another winter. If by Fall he was still with me, I would send him over the
Rainbow Bridge happy and peaceful when the weather was still good and after he
had enjoyed a beautiful summer.
Percy continued on and enjoyed that
last summer to the fullest. He snuggled with Tangi, enjoyed his treats and
fresh forage, and gave me many goat kisses. He lifted my heavy heart as I
watched my soon-to-be ex-husband pack up his belongings and take several trips
hauling it all to Wyoming. The night of his final departure, I watched the
vehicle leave, closed the gate, and threw myself into the gravel work I had
started earlier that weekend determined to stave off tears for as long as
possible. The work kept me focused and numb and I didn't stop for several
hours. Twilight came on and I was starting the evening chores when I saw a
movement that caught my eye in the paddock. Percy was down and struggling to
get back up. I raced over to assist him and saw that he was breathing heavily.
I got him on his feet, but he took only two steps and collapsed. When I knelt
down to try and help him back up, he leaned into me until I sat down next to
him and he placed his head in my lap with a deep, ragged sigh. I called the
vet. I then answered a text from my friends Shannon and Travis and told them
what had happened. They said they were on their way right then so I wouldn't be
alone when the vet arrived. Then I sat by Percy and let all my tears come to
the surface. It all seemed so unfair, to lose Percy on this day of all
days. I admit I was enraged for a few moments at the injustice of it all,
but it dissipated when, hearing me upset, Percy struggled to get up again and
reached his head towards me in concern. Even then, my sweet boy was trying to
comfort me.
My friends arrived and helped me
move Percy to a more comfortable location and position. We all talked
soothingly to Percy and petted him. He was calm and peaceful when the vet
arrived. Percy went to sleep with his head in my lap hearing me tell him how
much I loved him. My friends held me when, unable to contain the grief of the
day any longer, I cried. I was heartbroken over my divorce and over losing
Percy. I was also grateful for the love and support of my friends and the years
I had been fortunate enough to have with Percy. I was also relieved and
my heart lifted as my initial wave of emotions subsided knowing that this sweet
goat of mine had passed on a beautiful summer night with his head in my lap,
surrounded by love and at peace. Losing a loved one, human or animal, is never
easy and it’s easy to want to close oneself off and prevent the pain of such a
loss be it to death or otherwise. However, a heart that breaks is one that has
known love and a broken heart can heal. Given the choice between a life without
love and having a broken heart from time to time, I'll choose knowing love and
carrying the memories of the blessings that come with it over the alternative
any day.
Percy taught me many
things while he was here on the farm. He gave a lot love, created a lot of
laughter, and brought a smile to all who crossed his path. The farm is not
quite the same without him, but his memory still makes me smile and the stories
I get to tell about him lighten my heart, even in the hardest moments.
There are versions of the Rainbow
Bridge story that say our furry and feathered friends wait for us to arrive and
greet us when we cross over. I hope that its true. If it is, I'm sure Percy
will be right at the front, trotting up with his toothy smile and wagging tail
to give me one of his famous kisses and maybe even a quick "goose" on
the rump when I greet the other critters I have waiting for me at the gate.
Until then, I'll tell their stories and enjoy all the moments I get to share
with them while they are here on this little farm I call home.
Rest in peace, my
sweet Percy goat. I know you're making a lot of new friends on the other
side of the Rainbow Bridge, butting heads with Nutmeg, and flirting your way
into everyone's hearts. I'll see you on the other side, my sweet
boy.
