There comes a time in every goat owner’s life where they have to make a decision between passing a lovable pet on to a fellow goat lover and sweeping goat pellets (waste) off their back porch forevermore.
We’ve “had our fun” with Max as my mom put it. He was playful, fun, and downright hilarious. He did, however, grow to be three times the size we expected, and as he grew and grew, he also became a little more aggressive. He had gotten to where he would rear up on his hind legs and then come down and swoop his horns at the kids and it was making me a bit nervous. Jaiden was strong enough to grab him by the horns and push him away, Jeryn on the other hand, was not big enough yet.
We had told the kids that we were looking for Max a good home. They seemed okay with it, but I had mixed feelings. Our co-worker, Katie and her husband agreed to give Max a good home. They had mentioned they wanted another goat, and Mario was quick to offer ours. Not sure if she was completely serious, I sent Katie the following picture in a text that said,
“Dear, Katie, I would like to come live with you starting tomorrow. I’m an easy keeper, funny to watch and even know a few tricks. Sincerely, Max “
We waited, holding our breath, for the response.
In a few seconds a text back said,” Lol that is so cute!!!! How can we resist that.”
I texted back, “What time should I be there? Are you serving dinner?”
The next text said, “Whenever you want to come, dinner will be waiting.”
“Perfect!” I thought…Everybody wins here.
Everyone was on the same page until right up till time to leave. The kids all of a sudden didn’t want to give Max up, and as I petted him and he nibbled on my hair, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. The kids were crying. I was sniffling. Mario, on the other hand, couldn’t get him loaded fast enough.
I thought about the night he showed up at our house with Matthew. And how sick/weak he got, and how we nursed him back to health. I thought about worried I was about him.
I thought about petol bismol on his lips. And party hats on his head. I thought about him on the table finishing off the barbeque at Jeryn’s party when we left the table.
I thought about his little tricks and how he first played with the kids. How he came to the arena with us to rope. And how patient he was as Jeryn practiced his tying.
Then I thought about how disgusted we all were three weeks ago, the night we came home after a long hard day to find that the goat had spent the ENTIRE day in our house demolishing every square inch of it. (Our dog has learned to turn the handle of our back door and open it if left unlocked. Obviously, we left it unlocked that day.) There were vases turned over, vases broken, indoor plants shredded, straw mats even MORE SHREDDED, trash cans tuned over…and a trail of goat pellets into every room. Mario actually made it home before me that night. He was mad at the dog for opening the door, but more mad at the goat for destroying that house I had stayed up till midnight cleaning. He texted me saying, “Say a heart felt prayer for your dog and goat.” I laughed, thinking, what in the world? Another text told they had been in house all day. I laughed again, thinking, “What a ridiculous prank to play on me.” I checked out my groceries and headed for home. When I walked through the front door, I realized he wasn’t kidding. He joked (sort of) that he never knew goat meat was so good on the grill. That night I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. washing, disinfecting, mopping, cleaning, dusting, etc every nook and cranny of the house AGAIN.
I wiped the tear off my cheek and told the kids to let Daddy load Max.
Jeryn was too terrified to get in the picture because Max always butts him and stands on his hind legs with his hair raised up all over. But he did, however, muster up the courage to swing his rope and drop a loop on him one last time after sissy had him caught. haha
And so Max was off to a new home, just a few miles down the road. At least we can go see him if we miss him too bad. I am happy to report he is doing well and likes his new home!
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