Saving Hornsby (as in Bruce)
The first week of June, we, and many of our volunteers, became worried about a neighbor’s goat that was isolated in a round pen with no food, water or shelter.
Concerned, we went a’calling and were told that the goat was removed from the rest of the herd because he was to go to another home in a couple of days. Two more weeks passed and still the goat was in the same predicament. Temperatures on that particular weekend were expected to climb to 105 degrees so again, we went a’calling.
The woman who owned the goat finally “broke”, confessing that the goat was mean – she “hated” the goat and wished he would die! Unwilling to leave this animal to suffer a horrible death, we offered to welcome him into our care. $500 she snapped – “he’s worth $500”. “No way”, we stated. She then countered with – “okay, how about $50”. Once again, we stood our ground. Finally, she agreed to surrender him into our care.
Circumstances being what they were, we had to wait a couple of days before we could transfer Hornsby onto the grounds of HartSong so the owner allowed us to move him out of his sun drenched enclosure and into one of her horse stalls where at least, he would have cover from the sun. A couple of days later, we entered this “mean” goats pen, placed ropes around his most magnificient horns and calmly walked him onto the grounds of HartSong.
Moving day for Hornsby
June 26, Hornsby was castrated. In that his sperm was viable for the next 6 – 8 weeks, he needed to remain isolated from the other female gosts on the west side. Our plan was to move Hornsby in early August but as of this writing, Hornsby remains on the east side of the property. Why you might ask? Well, it all has to do with Macho the Mule. You see, Macho thinks Hornsby to be his new, favorite “PLAY TOY”! On the day we attempted to move Hornsby to the west side, we managed to get him half way down the gravel road when out of nowhere – here comes Macho – at a full gallop. Now keep in mind that Macho doesn’t have a mean bone in his body – all he really wanted to do was to greet the new sanctuary resident but Horsnby didn’t quite see his “full speed ahead” approach as a friendly gesture so, Hornsby turned on a dime and booked his way back to the safety of the east pasture where he has remained ever since. We will continue to try to relocate him to the west side but next time, we will make certain that Macho is secured in a pasture.
In the short time we’ve had Hornsby in our care, we have come to know that he is not a “mean” goat, at all. Every day, when one of us drives through the main gate, we stop, get out of the car and offer him treats. He now runs up up to the fence line and awaits the handful of goodies that he so appreciates and deserves. Life is good now for sweet Hornsby – another happy ending!
The moral of this story is that animals are a direct reflection of the way in which they are treated. Treat them with a mean, heavy hand and they will be mean – BUT, treat them with kindness – well, let me just say that once again, love and kindness TRUMPED cruelty and neglect – it works every time!
…every life matters
*Many thanks to Michele Kelly – HS volunteer and photographer extraordinaire – for this month’s most beautiful photograph of Hornsby*