Today we lost Ellen.
We bought Ellen back in the early spring of
2013 from a farm near Pottstown PA. She had been destined for auction, then
slaughter and processing for Easter dinner. We actually bought her “by the
pound”, paying the farmer what he would have gotten at auction based upon her
weight. We always said that we rescued and saved Ellen from the dinner table,
which was very, very true. On the ride home, Kath gave her the name Ellen,
after one of her favorite aunts.
Ellen joined Francis and Irene on our farm,
and for a while, went to work with me at the golf club to eat poison ivy and
other stuff that we otherwise would have needed chemicals to control. Reducing chemical use was part of our plan at
the course to become a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, which we did
accomplish. Ellen, along with Francis and Irene, played an important role in
obtaining this prestigious award.
Ellen was the “runt”. She never grew to the
size of the others, topping out at only 115 lbs, while the others weighed in at
150-200 lbs. Being small, she was at the bottom of the pecking order, and the
others would dominate the food and sometimes the shelter. It’s what goats do.
We added a shelter to the pen so that when Ellen
was pushed out of the main “house”, she had a place to go. We always put the
hay in three different places, so that she could always get to one of the
piles. And when it came to grain, I would feed her by hand while the other two
shared the bowl. We always did what we could to keep her fed and out of the
weather.
We also gave her extra treats when the
others weren’t looking.
Out of the pen she was more adventurous than
Francis and Irene. She would leave them and go off on her own, and we would
have to pay attention as to where she was wandering off to. Sometimes she would
wander into the woods, a bit too close to the road, or near the neighbor’s yard,
and I would have drop whatever I was doing and go get her. Most of the time though, she would hang out in
the front pasture while the other two stayed nearer to me by the stable or close
to their pen. While Francis and Irene were not comfortable alone, Ellen enjoyed
her “me time”, most likely because she wasn’t being picked on or pushed away
from a sweet spot of grass.
When Dusty came to the farm, he and Ellen
formed a bond. When Dusty was by the pen, Ellen would come over and they would
“graze” together, nibbling away! Sometimes they were so close that their noses
touched through the fence.
When Ellen wandered out into the front
pasture, Dusty would quietly wander out there too. If Francis and Irene were out in the front
pasture, Dusty would take off after those two, chasing them away, but rarely did he ever
chase Ellen. Those two would just hang out. I know that Dusty will miss
her. For whatever reason, those two “clicked”.
We have always felt lucky to share our lives
with animals, and Ellen is no exception. She will be missed and thought of
often. I am sure that out of habit I will be stuffing treats in my pockets to give
to her, thinking that she is there. I will be hoping to still feel her nibbling
at my hand, looking for treats as if we were still walking back from the
pasture together, as we did almost every day for the past 11 years.
