Eden Had A Little Goat

Wednesday morning, I was lying in bed, trying to get a few last winks after a long, sleepless night, when Brock came running into my room, yelling something about our dogs trying to eat a baby sheep outside our house. "What?" I croaked wearily, sliding out of bed and slipping on my robe. I walked outside to find two very hyper boxers dashing around the yard after one very frightened hoofed animal. I called the dogs and tied them up, then set out to get a closer look at their prey. My farm-ignorant eye had no idea if the animal was a sheep or a goat. The kids and I tried luring it near with carrots and blades of grass. Eventually, we had to surround it and corner it before we could catch it.

Once I felt the small nubs on its head, I knew it must be a goat. I stuck it in the dog kennel, intending to just keep it until we could figure out where it came from.

I contacted the animal shelter, asked the neighbors, and drove around looking for farms with goats. No one seemed to know where the little kid had come from. We fed the goat milk and grass and weeds, and started calling it "Grover". Then we learned that it's a female goat and changed her name to "Sunshine". This morning, we tied up the dogs again and let the goat roam around the property, looking for her favorite things to eat. This time, she didn't run away from us! She let us hold her and pet her, and seems to like following the kids around. I think we're becoming attached to our new friend. Still not really sure how to take care of a goat, but how hard can it be, really?