Farewell To Mocha

Yesterday afternoon a tragic event happened.  Tricia called me and told me that Mocha was in respiratory distress.  Mocha is a Nubian goat that is spotted all over.  She's a really pleasant goat.  Some goats are trouble, but Mocha has always had a calm disposition.  I ran out to the pasture where she was and she was gasping for air.  She fell on the ground, and we worked to see if there was something we could do to help her.  Tricia went back to the house for meds and I coaxed her to the barn where we could work on her without all the other animals in the way.

As it turned out, Mocha succumbed to whatever medical issue that suddenly came over her.  We were both sad as we always are when we lose an animal.  It's not uncommon.  We've lost a multitude of chickens, several cows and a number of goats.  You try to do your best to raise them in a humane manner, knowing that you gave them a good life, but fully aware that death is part of it.

I went and got the wagon that was to serve as the hearse to bring Mocha to her place of interment.  LuLu arrived to pay her respects.  I can't say that LuLu and Mocha were friends, but LuLu looked sad to learn of Mocha's passing.  As I pulled Mocha off in the wagon, a trail of curious animals followed me to the gate.

In the very back of the garden, between the strawberries and the sugarcane, lay the spot I picked out for Mocha's final resting place.  The previous day we'd received a little over an inch of rain, so the soil was easy to dig it.  It wasn't long before I had a DEEP hole dug for Mocha.  

At the appointed time, Mocha was lowered into the earth, and I began to shovel dirt over her.

The job was soon done, and I fashioned a crude cross with some oak limbs and some baling twine and decorated it with a camelia bloom.

I stood by the graveside, and it seemed like some words needed to be said for Mocha.  I went inside and found "The Pastor's Manual" by J.R. Hobbs.

The Table of Contents showed plenty of information for how to properly conduct funeral proceedings.  It gave direction for all manner of funerals - young, old, and many others.  Try as I might, I couldn't locate directions on how to perform a Funeral Service for a Goat.

Well, we know why, right?  Goats don't have souls.  We'll miss Mocha, nonetheless.  She was a good animal, and we will miss her around Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.

A Quick Trip to the Vet for Mocha

On Friday morning, we were out early to milk the cows.  We have a routine of separating animals, feeding and milking that resembles a rodeo more than anything else.  While I was settling down with the milking bucket, Tricia exclaimed, "Mocha, what happened to you?!"  Mocha is Agnes' little doeling.  Mocha had a huge gash on her abdomen that pulled her hide back about the size of your palm, exposing bare skin and muscle.  It was not pretty to look at.

I held her still while Tricia tried to pull the hide back in place, but it was of no use.  The goat was acting normally, but I'm sure it hurt!

While I went to work, Tricia loaded Mocha into a pet carrier in the back of the truck and drove her to the veterinarian.  Fortunately, he's just a mile down the road.  He had some other appointments ahead of us, but had us leave her and said he'd anesthetize her and sew it up or it would be a mess.

Shortly after lunch we were called to go pick her up.  After paying $125, we loaded her back in the truck and headed home.

You can see below how Dr. Fontenot shaved her side and then stitched her all up.  He told us she'd heal up and asked us to watch to ensure no flies got around the wound.

Tricia gently carried the little girl back to the pasture where a welcoming crew of cows, chickens and goats were waiting.

Back home with momma and all was right with the world.

I hunted around for the cause of the injury.  Dr. Fontenot said it seemed like the damage pointed to the culprit being either a fence or a bobcat.  After searching, I found a big tuft of hair and new exactly what happened.  If you look above, there is a fencing panel.  On the end of the panel, there are barbs that poke out.  Normally, they are cut off flush, but on this particular panel, there was a 3/8 inch portion that stuck out.  This panel was close to the hay bale, surrounding a young oak tree.  We surmise that the kids were being kids and a cow pushed her into the panel, cutting her open.  I removed the hazardous panel to ensure we'd have no further trips to the vet.  It's always an adventure, I tell ya!