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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Pets / Animal Friends
- Published: 01/25/2016
Goats Day
Born 1941, M, from Whitby, United KingdomGoat Day.
We'd looked for someone with a Billy Goat for some time without success. The last local hero had expired recently and no one had come to take his place (the Billy that is, not his owner.)
Then at the pub I heard of one that was quite remote, (everyone with Billy Goats is quite remote.) When I made contact the farmer was very amenable but said that we would have to take our goat to him as the Billy was very big and aggressive and didn't take to being put in transport.
It sounded a bit odd but I made arrangements to go. This was easier said than done because at the time I had a Mini and to get Gemmi , our reluctant debutante, aboard meant that I had to take out the front passenger seat and secure her with the dogs' lead to the car window winder. But after a fruitful period of exercise, whilst I hoped that she would empty all of her compartments, we carefully guided her into the front seat for the short trip to her bow. She seemed well at ease and sat on the floor pan looking out of the front window, her horns moving from side to side as she chewed her cud.
The road was a quiet one and I did not expect to pass any traffic but one old couple in a Fiesta coming the opposite way caught a glimpse of the strange front seat passenger and nearly clipped the dry stone wall in surprise.
The Billy had a strongly fenced paddock that bordered a wood and we walked down to it with Gemmi on the leader. The farmer said he had no trouble with poachers round here as the Billy was as good as a watch dog. Then he came into sight, he was as big as a pony, sandy coloured with large staring eyes and he bared his gums exposing his teeth in a most menacing way. The farmer was noticeably frightened of him and said the way to get them together was to let Gemmi into the compound on a long length of baler twine then retrieve her when the time was right.
So this we did and the goats got on really well together, then I gently reeled her in back to the gate, paid my dues and re-installed her in the Mini's front seat.
The smell in the car on the way home was unbearable so I drove with my head out of the window as much as I dared. Gemmi did not improve things by making a dollop and the rest, on the floor. I wished I'd put something down first but it was too late now. Only one car passed going the other way and it just happened to be the same couple. The sight of a Mini with a goats' head sticking out of one window and the drivers' head out of the other side front window was enough to cause them to pull into the side of the road and I could see them talking with animation.
Back home I installed Gemmi on the rough ground that she enjoyed grazing at the back of the house.
"How did you get on?" The wife shouted from upstairs.
"Oh, OK really, we managed quite well. I'll just put your seat back."
Five months to the day Gemmi gave birth to a beautiful white kid which when we looked closer was a Billy. We were lucky, sometime later, to find someone prepared to give him a good home.
It was then as I put him into his cardboard box for his journey to his new home that I noticed his top lip curl back in annoyance showing tiny little white teeth.
I wished the new owner the best of luck and away he drove. I walked back to the house and my good lady asked me why I was smiling.
Goats Day(Ossie Durrans)
Goat Day.
We'd looked for someone with a Billy Goat for some time without success. The last local hero had expired recently and no one had come to take his place (the Billy that is, not his owner.)
Then at the pub I heard of one that was quite remote, (everyone with Billy Goats is quite remote.) When I made contact the farmer was very amenable but said that we would have to take our goat to him as the Billy was very big and aggressive and didn't take to being put in transport.
It sounded a bit odd but I made arrangements to go. This was easier said than done because at the time I had a Mini and to get Gemmi , our reluctant debutante, aboard meant that I had to take out the front passenger seat and secure her with the dogs' lead to the car window winder. But after a fruitful period of exercise, whilst I hoped that she would empty all of her compartments, we carefully guided her into the front seat for the short trip to her bow. She seemed well at ease and sat on the floor pan looking out of the front window, her horns moving from side to side as she chewed her cud.
The road was a quiet one and I did not expect to pass any traffic but one old couple in a Fiesta coming the opposite way caught a glimpse of the strange front seat passenger and nearly clipped the dry stone wall in surprise.
The Billy had a strongly fenced paddock that bordered a wood and we walked down to it with Gemmi on the leader. The farmer said he had no trouble with poachers round here as the Billy was as good as a watch dog. Then he came into sight, he was as big as a pony, sandy coloured with large staring eyes and he bared his gums exposing his teeth in a most menacing way. The farmer was noticeably frightened of him and said the way to get them together was to let Gemmi into the compound on a long length of baler twine then retrieve her when the time was right.
So this we did and the goats got on really well together, then I gently reeled her in back to the gate, paid my dues and re-installed her in the Mini's front seat.
The smell in the car on the way home was unbearable so I drove with my head out of the window as much as I dared. Gemmi did not improve things by making a dollop and the rest, on the floor. I wished I'd put something down first but it was too late now. Only one car passed going the other way and it just happened to be the same couple. The sight of a Mini with a goats' head sticking out of one window and the drivers' head out of the other side front window was enough to cause them to pull into the side of the road and I could see them talking with animation.
Back home I installed Gemmi on the rough ground that she enjoyed grazing at the back of the house.
"How did you get on?" The wife shouted from upstairs.
"Oh, OK really, we managed quite well. I'll just put your seat back."
Five months to the day Gemmi gave birth to a beautiful white kid which when we looked closer was a Billy. We were lucky, sometime later, to find someone prepared to give him a good home.
It was then as I put him into his cardboard box for his journey to his new home that I noticed his top lip curl back in annoyance showing tiny little white teeth.
I wished the new owner the best of luck and away he drove. I walked back to the house and my good lady asked me why I was smiling.
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