The family left for a week long trip to Mexico yesterday. James is gone, visiting friends until tomorrow or Monday morning; He left Thursday. Dan and I are the only ones here holding down the fort. We woke up this morning around 10:30 and headed down stairs for some breakfast. We both had a hard night of bad dreams but a cup of coffee made us forget all about it. A schedule had been made up and our job for the day was cleaning up around the blueberry bushes. We headed outside and milked and fed the goats then headed down to the horse and goat field. Dan got there first and yelled to me to get down there quick. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. A male goat, the female, and the little baby had all been killed. There were gashes in their necks, legs, and snouts and the only thing either of us could think of was the coyotes everyone had been talking about. The biggest male goat Butch was down at the other end of the pasture and when we walked down there he was alive. Dan called Gerald and Tara and told them what happened and they called their neighbors and the vet. While he was up at the house, two dogs showed up at the fence and started trying to get though. One was a little blue heeler and the other was a big male pitbull. I wasnt sure what they were doing so I walked up to the fence. The pitt was huge and to top it all off, he had drying blood all over him. I ran at him, swinging a heavy piece of metal and they scurried up the side of the mountain, but not before i got a picture of him. Soon there was a convoy coming up the drive way and we were all talking about what could be done to save Butch. The vet tried everything but in the end he had to be put down. I showed everyone the pictures of the dogs and they said they didnt know who they belonged to but if he came back, i needed to shoot it. They found me a bolt action 22 rifle. They put the goats on the back of their two big ATVs and took them away and that was the end of that.
Since then, the day was filled with panic and rushing to put the rest of the animals in their pens. we got them all, except 4 or 5 chickens.
We never made it to the blue berries but i think thats ok. there's time for pruning bushes and mowing grass tomorrow. Tonight is for prayer.
Rest in peace little goats.
Oh, Tiff. That is absolutely horrible. I'm so glad that they found a .22. That animal needs to be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteIf it did belong to someone, though, and it went home covered in blood? The owners should do the job.
Those poor goats.. I hope things get better this week.
The harsh realities of the animal world are often disturbing, but those dogs need to be put down. Spend some time getting use to that gun so you are able to accurately defend yourselves and the animals. Be strong! Love you both.
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