My Life in a Goat

My goat, Rocky, was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Many people have experienced their beloved animal companions getting sick. It is an extremely difficult lesson journey to take.  Some of us rely on animals to allow ourselves to live comfortably in this world.  If we are extremely sensitive people, belonging to an animal can be our only salvation.  If we need more love than most people, being connected to an animal helps us to live better lives.  But, being a goat lover can be more challenging than being a cat or dog lover.  You cannot live just anywhere with a goat, there are strict zoning laws. There are not many goat vets and ones that know extensive goat medicine can be a very far drive away or in another state. Goats are not easy to transport as the hooved and horned creatures like to have their feet firmly planted on the ground.

The goat farms in my area are for meat goats.  They eat them.  That is the equivalent of eating your son or daughter.   Even if you were starving, you would probably not kill your loved ones for your own sustenance.

Being faced with many challenges that this world has no answers for, I've had to thoroughly understand what I am up against and what are my options.  Having a sick goat with no local vets that know extensive goat medicine and not currently being able to live with them, makes this journey a spiritual one.

When you are part of a goat herd, you are part of an elaborate social structure that is extremely important and extremely strong.  My herd consists of me and two goats, Rocky and Sunshine.  Rocky and I share the same life.  We are connected by every fiber of our being.  One look from his eyes with horizontal pupils and I know where I stand, what he wants, what is going on with him, how he feels, what I might need to adjust or it is simply a nod of connection reinforcing that we share the same air and the same space, that the environment we live in is shared and that we are forever connected.  In that one look, there is a connected bond that enables one to have a sense of belonging in this world.  With goats, you are never alone and never isolated.  You are connected on every level at every moment. At least, this is how it is for me.

So having my life in a goat makes it extremely challenging when my dearly beloved comes down with something as serious as cancer.  I realize my life.  I realize what I need to change.  I realize what hasn't worked, will never work and what needs to be shifted in order to function in this world.  In short, my goat is forcing me to change my life inside and out.  His illness is my spiritual journey.

Stay tuned for more on that in the next blog....My Life in a Goat, blog 2
Please share my GoFundMe page www.gofundme.com/save-rocky-and-fund-play