Dogs, goats and the elderly

I think that people that don't know me probably think I am crazy, there are probably more than a few that do know me that know I am. I do pet visits at the local care center. I started taking my Border Collie Clyde when he was 6 mo old, but I also take in what ever baby animals I may have that are young enough for the elderly to hold on their laps.
The baby goats grow so fast that by the time they are a few weeks old they are too big and wiggly to take to the center. I decided it would be nice to have a little goat that would stay small longer to take in. Some friends that own Nigerian Dwarfs gave me a little 3 hour old buck kid. He weighted in at a whopping 3.5 pounds and was the cutest baby you could ask for. I kept him in the house and cuddled him as much as possible so he would sit on their laps. It worked because often he would take a nap while the stroked his soft fur.

Unfortunately he did not stay little. By the time Gilligan, the goat, was 4 months old he was too naughty to keep in the house, and he was moved into the barn with the other goats. Even though he is over 50 pounds I continue to take him in. He wears Depends to cut down on accidents. More than one person has commented that he wears diaper just like they do. The residents still love him and are disappointed on the days that they only get the dog.

The other day I had him in the house while he dried from his bath. He gets a bath on the day he goes visiting. I had him on a leash and was heading out the door, when who should walk in but the FedEx man. I tried to explain about the pet visits, and he said he understood, but I could see that he thought I must be a tad touched. He isn't the only one that has done a double take when I am walking in town with Gilligan. The looks on people's faces as we walk into the care center are priceless. People will look then look again. Then as if they can't believe what they are seeing they will ask, "That isn't a dog is it?". Or "Is that a goat?"

All the strange looks are worth it for the joy he brings to the residents. They have watched him grow up and to them he is theirs. He has laid on more than one bed with a smiling patient. I will continue to take Gilligan in to see his friends. The baths, the naughtyness while in the house and the strange looks are all worth it for the smiles I see on the residents faces.

Clyde the beginning

I got Clyde when he was 15 weeks old. My husband and I were at a Memorial Day Parade, watching our youngest daughter preform with the high school band. We were several blocks from where they were preforming and the parade was at a standstill. In front of us was a man with a large border collie and her pup. Both were sitting calmly while children swarmed over them.
We had lost our old border collie several years earlier and had talked about getting another one.
I was in the the midst of a depression as I watched my children leave home one at a time. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a border collie that was that relaxed in the midst of all this confusion. My husband was thinking the same thing. As the band played on I walked over and asked about the puppy. He was the last one of the litter. Yes they wanted to sell him. The price $150. Reasonable since he was up on his puppy shots, but he was a male and I really wanted a female. But it was impossible not to fall in love with him and when we met my daughter after the parade I was holding a wiggly little boarder collie.
My youngest daughter's dog was named Bonnie and we decided on the name Clyde for this bundle of fur.
We made a bed for our newest member of the family in a small crate in the kitchen. He was shy and quite and accepted the crate without a problem. In a few days he was house broken. But he was becoming comfortable with his new home and his energy levels went up with his comfort. What happened to that laid back puppy at the parade? He started tearing around the house. You couldn't hold him for a second. He just couldn't sit still. He chewed on everything, and worst of all he displayed a fear of most men, my husband excluded. In his first year he snapped at the Schwans man and my brother-in-law when they made quick moves to pet him as he stretched to get a sniff without getting too close. At the puppy class we enrolled him in he couldn't stand it when other dogs were working and would snap at them.
My sister, a local dog training consultant, suggested I take him to the local nursing home and do pet visits. I thought it was going to be a disaster, but she counciled me to sit on the sidelines with him and give him treats when he sat quietly. Within an hour he was moving comfortably around the wheel chairs and walkers. He loved these Alzhiemer patients. He also fell in love with the facilities cocker type dog. The two of them couldn't get enough of each other. He was 6 months old at this visit and he has been going now for a year and a half. He has outgrown his fear of men for the most part and enjoys going different places with me. He has never in the year and a half shown any fear of anyone in the facility.
The pet visits have been therapy for the residents, myself and Clyde. It is the highlight of our week.

Irresponsible dog owners.

I had an upsetting call this weekend. The woman taking care of my daughters goats while she is out of town called and said that the goats had been attacked by dogs. One was dead and the other badly mangled and had to be put down. The owner of the dogs knew her dogs were capable of escape and knew that when on the loose they killed farm animals. Now because someone was irresponsible my daughter has lost years of breeding and years of future high quality goats, not to mention the pain this loss has caused her.

Please if you are the owner of large dogs that like to roam keep them in a secure pen. A secure pen is one that they can not climb out of or dig under. These dogs were in a kennel, but the kennel does not have a roof and the dogs are jumpers. If your dogs do damage you are responsible. These dogs, in killing the two goats, did around $6oo to $900 worth of damage.
I love dogs and the world would not be the same without them. But dog owners need to realize that all dogs in packs are capable of maiming and killing livestock. They are predators by nature.
Please, Please be responsible dog owners and do what ever you need to do to keep your dogs home.