If you had told me prior to this spring that I would one day have a goat living in my house, I would have said that was ludicrous. Goats are not made for living in houses with their penchant for getting into mischief. Trying to keep them contained in a barn is hard enough!
Of course, there was a time when I would have thought the same thing if I’d been told I would allow dogs to sleep on my couch one day. Preposterous!
And yet, here they are. Every day.
This is Max trying to blow sweet kisses in an attempt to keep me from changing my mind about the current arrangement. By the way, it worked. What can I say, I’m an old softy!
So I suppose I didn't have far to travel down the thought process of justifying a goat in the house. It’s the natural next step to take, right? Please tell me yes.
Still not convinced? Let me put forth my argument. Everdene the Drama Queen was our only bred doe this year. Goats often deliver twins, but instead she gave birth to a single doeling in the wee hours of a cold morning. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she did a great job of getting her newborn cleaned up and dried off, but then the reality of having new responsibilities hit and she adamantly refused to nurse her tiny bundle of joy.
How can you say no to this face? Leave it to Everdene to find a way.
So for the safety of this little one, coupled with the fact that we were in the middle of a long stretch of the coldest temperatures we’ve had in forty years, she moved inside with us.
At first, it was pretty simple. Just like all newborns, she just slept, ate, and well—you know.
We kept her in her “crib” when she wasn't being held. Max designated himself the #1 babysitter.
As she became more active, she started following me around the house as I worked. See? Totally normal to have a baby goat at your feet while sitting at your desk.
Or having dogs and goats playing together in the kitchen at dinnertime!
Every night, she would join us on the couch (yes, both dogs would be there too. Please don't try to picture all of us on the couch together. It was quite a comical pile!)
She was happy. And so were we.
She was growing taller by inches every week. And eventually, the weather warmed up, too. We introduced her to the rest of the herd, slowly leaving her with them for longer periods of time. Soon, the day came when she was ready to stay with them permanently. It’s a proud but tough moment for mamas to see their wee ones grow up—even adoptive goat mamas! I have to admit I was worried about how she would fare.
She did just great! And honestly, I think I missed her more than she missed me, which is just how it should be.
We chose to name her Emmeline, after the main character in the book, Emmeline, the Orphan of the Castle. It is a Cinderella sort of tale, so it seemed fitting.
While she may not live in the house anymore, she still keeps me company! She follows me everywhere as I work around the yard, because I just can't say no to this sweet face.