beatrixszucs

Ok, I will simply have to say that having a pet goat was one of the most intriguing experiences of my life so far…  lol!  I’ve traveled, seen, heard, tasted, experienced many things..  and he was simply a ton of fun; a barrel of laughs, sweet, friendly (except maybe when Suzie tried to herd him up..lol.. o lord), and a great $75 investment.

It was a friend who inspired the whole thing, with her babysitting one for a friend of hers and living in a gated community and all…  I figured it would be a bit safer/easier than getting a dog (which I presumed would be more of a responsibility at the time when I could only be at home so much).  I mean hey, she told me all about how she had him on a runner in the backyard, and how he was a hoot –that’s all I needed to hear, seeing as we had an acre lot with a privacy fence (hence, no runner necessary), and the fun part would be perfect!

Well, I didn’t know what I was in for…..   These photos chronical a very few adventures shared by all with him in his first little while with me..  and I think the rest of the photos (and videos) have been lost in history –but not forgotten ❤

First off, I lived rurally.  Kinda.  –Let’s just say the area wasn’t exactly “zoned” for farm animals.., I had not the first clue about goats: their lifespan (apprx 15 yrs), their upkeep (minimal), their … anything! nor where to go about obtaining one (Google, apparently!), what kind would be a good “pet” size (pygmy is better, found this out after the fact..), etc etc.  Basically all I knew is that they ate grass (right??), needed water and some form of shelter.  We built a small house with a shingle roof (fancy lol!) and googled a farm to find a goat.  Got the farmer on the phone (he was a boar goat farmer, –those are large white “meat” goats), and he looked at me like I had 3 heads when I told him what I was wanting a goat for… “goats aren’t pets,” he said (with his southern accent), “they ain’t got no personalities..” (when I told him about my friend having one)…

His first night home (“mom” was at work), and the roommates decided to welcome him, warmly –and I’m still not sure I forgive them, years later!  Oh, and the best part?  Well that was when the method of my exposure to this photo was by them hacking my computer and setting it as my desktop….! :

But on a more serious note, he grew on us all.. (this first one was my best “omg-I-love-him-he’s-so-cute-what-the-hell-was-I-thinking-getting-a-goat-what-am-I-supposed-to-do-with-him?!” smile) :

…he especially grew on me  :*)  His name “Spike” stuck, though it started as a joke.

He even met Maverick, our resident pooch (and promptly scared the bejeezus out of him by stomping and butting him –even prior to his having any horns!  Poor Mavy) :

I took him to my parent’s house for holidays (this was one Thanksgiving after a hurricane took out a tree in the front yard..).  Had to tie him to a tree out front –wasn’t really sure where else to “put” him lol!  The rope weighed more than he did, and he “baAaaa’d” in protest the entire way through dinner about being left alone in a strange place.. not to mention the neighbors driving by weren’t quite sure what to make of this strange-looking… and strange sounding … dog?…

He was mischievous, and he knew when he was busted.  Not that he cared, he just realized that I knew what he was up to, then continued to do it (punk!)..  this was me asking from my bedroom window for him to simply behave:

But mostly he chilled, whether I was outside with him getting sun or planting flowers or something of the sort, to when I allowed him inside once in a while, while I worked on a drafting project for school (using my slippers as a bed..) :

… and then of course we always enjoyed Christmas 🙂  He was a great sport about his lil santa hat, and showed it off proudly, from the kitchen to prancing around from sofa to sofa!   We actually had to stop him from eating the Christmas tree, apparently he thought it was quite tasty.  He was also a great lil helper while we hung lights 🙂

Merry Christmas!  *<|:)

**Some info “for the record:”
Spike was a nigerian dwarf goat, who did not eat tin cans contrary to what many people think of goats; he was a very finicky eater (no veggies even!) who loved his timothy hay and sweet feed.  I was completely mistaken that he would require less attention than a dog (it’s equal..), he always had a clean & shiny coat -without regular baths or any grooming on my part, no fleas -without treatment of any sort (the occasional tick and/or bee sting, given he got into brush an stuff).  He was able to swim (we had a pool and well, I got curious…), he absolutely loved to jump on anything – from anything, including our patio furniture, tree stumps, on the pool steps when we drained it for maintenance, and simply into the air when there was nothing else!  He followed, sometimes ran after the occasional jogger –oops!, and he learned not to eat mom’s flowers from the front yard flower bed.  He was an amazing little life who was loved so very much ❤

…and for the record, they have A-mazing personalities and make a great pet!