Sustaining Member Annie, Of Vashon Island, Rescues Goats

NUBIAN BABY GOAT

BABY GOAT

NWPB listeners are involved in a variety of animal-related organizations.  We’re all familiar with groups that save and adopt dogs and cats, but goats?  Rescue goats? Yes!  Sustaining member Annie, from Vashon Island, is involved with the Puget Sound Goat Rescue, which typically assists with the adoption of 180 – 200 goats per year, saving them from a variety of sad circumstances.  The brainchild of Barbara Jamison, a former FedEx employee, this all-volunteer group takes in neglected or abandoned goats, nursing them back to health and then making them available for adoption to carefully screened homes.  By far the largest caprine component are kids (baby goats) – the unwanted by-product of breedings to provide milk.  Goats usually have twins (or sometimes more), many of whom are males, of no use to someone whose primary goal is milk production.  Puget Sound Goat Rescue volunteers pick up these often very young casts-offs, making sure they are bottle-fed and socialized.  Males are neutered to become “wethers,” who do not smell or exhibit any of the “billy goat” tendencies popular culture associates with them.  After the kids have been weaned or adults nursed back to health, they are offered for adoption.  Because goats are herd animals, they are always adopted out in pairs.

Potential adopters fill out adoption forms, receive a site visit by a PSGR volunteer to make sure they are properly set-up to provide care for the goats and given information to help them care for and enjoy their new family members.  PSGR offers goat care classes and someone is always willing to answer any questions that may arise.  Should the adopter not be able to keep their goats, the goats will always be taken back by the Rescue.

Want to learn more – or see other adorable adoptables?  Visit Puget Sound Goat Rescue at http://www.pugetsoundgoatrescue.org/, on Facebook or Instagram (@rescuegoats).