A week or so ago I wrote about our pet goat, Sammy and his antics. We still haven't stopped him form climbing his paddock fence and yesterday.
As I drove onto our farm property after church, I noticed Sammy was again out in the main pasture, enjoying the sunshine and the nice green grass with the horses nearby. I thought he was a bit far out, for coyotes, normally a dusk or dawn hunter have been seen in these woods during broad daylight before. I called Sammy's name, he looked up nonchalantly and gave me a bleat, then immediately went back to his snack.
I decided that I'd leave him alone because I knew if I went after him he would just walk away from me and tease. Next to being a real "Butthead", Sammy loves to tease. So I went into the house and fixed a sandwich for lunch then went to my writing desk to work on a new article.
About an haour went by and then I suddenly heard a bleat that was different, like a shriek of fright, followed by the sound of hoofbeats as the horses headed toward the pasture near the house. Being flight animals, when they take off in unison something has usually frightened them and the run to the fence nearest our home.
Walking out into the pasture and over to the area near the woodline where I had last seen him, there was no sign of Sammy anywhere. I called his name but to no response. I combed the area to look for any sign of a struggle but there was none. No hide fragments or blood stains and no sign of a body being moved through the pine straw was found.
After about twenty minutes I walked back to the main yard and over to the paddock that he shares with Angus, our Shetland pony. He wasn't in the yard and looking at his small stall I couldn't see him. I walked over to the stall, entered and looked back in the corner blocked from view by the sunlight and there he was, curled up in the corner and shaking. I checked him from head to tail but there was no sign of injury. But he didn't rise or bleat his usual greeting so I walked over, petting him and talking with a soothing low voice.
Sammy just looked up at me, remained otherwise still except for the shaking, and was breathing hard. Four hours later he was still in his stall, very uncharacteristic of his normal behavior, but the shaking had stopped. He did seem to be glad to see me again.
Little Sammy must have made one heck of a get-a-way and I still can't figure how he ran to the fence, climbed it and reentered his stall before I came out looking. It had been mere moments, but there is no doubt that he was frightened terribly. I only hope that he has learned his lesson because even though he can be a real pain in the you know what, I've actually grown attached to the silly guy.
Just another little lesson about the laws of nature and how a little goat escaped what should have been a brutal fate. The Lord works in strange ways and sometimes, just sometimes, His lesson can be learned from one of his creatures least able to defend himself, such as a little goat named Sammy.
Have a great day.
As I drove onto our farm property after church, I noticed Sammy was again out in the main pasture, enjoying the sunshine and the nice green grass with the horses nearby. I thought he was a bit far out, for coyotes, normally a dusk or dawn hunter have been seen in these woods during broad daylight before. I called Sammy's name, he looked up nonchalantly and gave me a bleat, then immediately went back to his snack.
I decided that I'd leave him alone because I knew if I went after him he would just walk away from me and tease. Next to being a real "Butthead", Sammy loves to tease. So I went into the house and fixed a sandwich for lunch then went to my writing desk to work on a new article.
About an haour went by and then I suddenly heard a bleat that was different, like a shriek of fright, followed by the sound of hoofbeats as the horses headed toward the pasture near the house. Being flight animals, when they take off in unison something has usually frightened them and the run to the fence nearest our home.
Walking out into the pasture and over to the area near the woodline where I had last seen him, there was no sign of Sammy anywhere. I called his name but to no response. I combed the area to look for any sign of a struggle but there was none. No hide fragments or blood stains and no sign of a body being moved through the pine straw was found.
After about twenty minutes I walked back to the main yard and over to the paddock that he shares with Angus, our Shetland pony. He wasn't in the yard and looking at his small stall I couldn't see him. I walked over to the stall, entered and looked back in the corner blocked from view by the sunlight and there he was, curled up in the corner and shaking. I checked him from head to tail but there was no sign of injury. But he didn't rise or bleat his usual greeting so I walked over, petting him and talking with a soothing low voice.
Sammy just looked up at me, remained otherwise still except for the shaking, and was breathing hard. Four hours later he was still in his stall, very uncharacteristic of his normal behavior, but the shaking had stopped. He did seem to be glad to see me again.
Little Sammy must have made one heck of a get-a-way and I still can't figure how he ran to the fence, climbed it and reentered his stall before I came out looking. It had been mere moments, but there is no doubt that he was frightened terribly. I only hope that he has learned his lesson because even though he can be a real pain in the you know what, I've actually grown attached to the silly guy.
Just another little lesson about the laws of nature and how a little goat escaped what should have been a brutal fate. The Lord works in strange ways and sometimes, just sometimes, His lesson can be learned from one of his creatures least able to defend himself, such as a little goat named Sammy.
Have a great day.
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