We had a bad scare Tuesday night. Gerty, our sweet nubian goat, was attacked by 2 stray dogs in her pen around 11pm. Apparently they squeezed under the very bottom of the panels. Valentine, her goat buddy, jumped out of the pen and went in with the horses and wasn't hurt. Lee ran out and chased the dogs out and then came in and woke me up to help him. Poor Gerty, she is doing fairly well now, but her whole left side and rear end are pretty ripped up. We immediately put her in the trailer and headed off to the vet and didn't get home until 3am.
This is Gerty, sharing hay with Sassy...
And again, with Valentine, sharing hay with Bandit...
I just spent half the morning securing the fence, but we are still concerned these dogs could come back. We have never had problems with dogs or even coyotes trying to get the goats. I'm pretty upset about the whole thing. Mainly, that whoever owns these dogs would just let them run loose. It's hard to blame the dogs. I hope we are able to find the owners. Gerty is probably the sweetest goat ever and for this to happen is just really sad. I'm just glad that she wasn't hurt worse than she was....
And again, with Valentine, sharing hay with Bandit...
I just spent half the morning securing the fence, but we are still concerned these dogs could come back. We have never had problems with dogs or even coyotes trying to get the goats. I'm pretty upset about the whole thing. Mainly, that whoever owns these dogs would just let them run loose. It's hard to blame the dogs. I hope we are able to find the owners. Gerty is probably the sweetest goat ever and for this to happen is just really sad. I'm just glad that she wasn't hurt worse than she was....
8 comments:
Aw I am so sorry to hear about poor Gerty's attack! I hope everything goes for her okay in her recovery. I feel for you having to deal with those sorts of things. The worst we get here is the odd stray starving coyote that will wander around on the road mid day just because it's that hungry. We've encroached too much upon their land. There is the odd cougar sighting at one forestry/trail park in the winter but thats about it.
Oh, poor Gerty!!! We used to have goats a long time ago and one of our dogs wanted to chase them. Thank goodness he didn't bit them. He was fine if they didn't rug but as soon as they started to run he would chase them. I hope you can find the owners of the dogs so they will keep them tied or fenced so this doesn't happen again. Poor Gerty, she was probably scared to death! Hope she is better soon! :-)
OMG hon - how awful!! Poor Gerty!!! I hope you find the dogs! They must be really aggressive if they are trying to take down a goat!!! Wow - so glad she survived!! I do love goats!!! Hugs to you too!!!
I hope Gerty recovers...that is so scary. I am so glad we have the Pyrenees to protect our goats. The really make us feel that the goats are safe. We have a lot of wild dogs running around also; they took down a couple baby calves a few months ago.
Thanks for the comments everyone. Gerty is doing pretty well today. I'm giving her IM pain meds every evening to keep her comfortable while she heals. Still haven't found the owner of the dogs...
I always come and look at this blog when I am stressed. I relax right away but Gerty's attack is just horrible. You may want to try adding a donkey into your mix. We keep them at the rabbit rescue. No dogs or coyotes even attempt to get in. Our bunnies are indoors of course but the donkeys make wonderful guards.
Oh poor Gertie! That is my worst nightmare!!! We have an irresponsible neighbor with a Shepherd the size of a timber wolf...needless to say i live in fear of such a thing happening...i hope Gertie makes a speedy recovery!!!
Jennifer
Oh what a poor baby, I swear there is nothing meaner than a pack of dog running together! Give her a pat on her cute behind from us!
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