Another Confession...or...I Love Goats!

I have another startling confession to make, although all of my friends who live near me know it...I want a goat. I would prefer a pygmy goat, but I'll take just about any goat. We had sheep when I was a little girl, but I had not yet discovered the wonder of goats, so I was not impressed. I don't think it's the same anyway. Sheep are just not sassy. We use sheep as examples of people who don't think for themselves. It has to be a goat.

Once again, it started in France. I went to the zoo in Amnéville, one of the best zoos in France. Was I impressed by their wonderful meerkat exhibit or their American exhibit complete with prairie dogs? No...it was the goats. I'm not sure why, but I think that was the first time I had seen a pygmy goat. It was love at first sight. I picked out a name for my future goat...Fernand. That was the name of my mailman, but I thought it better suited a goat.

The French word for goat is chèvre. Now, don't be confused. If you go out to eat in a French restaurant, they mention chèvre a lot. They are referring to goat cheese. They call it chèvre, too. Don't ask me why. I don't know. So if you order a salade de chèvre chaud it's going to have goat cheese on it , usually with little toasted pieces of French bread underneath. Sometimes they...but I digress.

I have since discovered that in Morocco the farmers let their goats climb trees. Not just any tree, but a relative of the olive tree. The goats, it seems, love to eat the fruit. I think the farmers let them do it because it's hard to lose your goats when they're all up in a tree.

Here's a country store where they let the goats climb on the roof. It's called Goats on the Roof ...where there are goats...on the roof. I saw about 8 of them or so up there walking around. There's just some sort of crime scene tape around it. They must be good citizens because they don't try to cross the tape. They can even climb up on the little red house and then all the way to the little look-out tower there. Tourists love it. So do I.

They have devised an ingenious method to get you to spend money. They have little dispensers for oats that cost maybe 50 cents for a handful of them. You put the oats in the little can and then either turn a crank or ride a little bicycle that turns a chain and sends them up there. But more about that on another post...

I was admiring goats online the other day since my HOA won't let me have one when I came across an interesting article. It seems that in a particular city in the US, the Goat Justice League consisting of 100 members convinced the City Council to reclassify pygmy goats as small animals rather than farm animals. These little goats, up to 2 feet tall and weighing 50 to 100 pounds, must have a license, just like a cat or dog. They must be dehorned and the males must be neutered. Interestingly enough, you have to keep them in your own yard, but people may borrow them for grazing.

Now here's the kicker... That city was Seattle, Washington. Does anyone know someone who is sort of kooky and quirky who lives in Seattle who might keep a goat for me? Hmmmm.....*winks* Debbie