There is a new star shining brightly in the night sky.
That star's name is Star.
Sadly, our portly (and quite elderly) goat that many of you thought was pregnant,
passed away Wednesday night, during the night.
We found her yesterday morning, during morning feeding.
She had been just fine the prior evening, and even came across the pasture for her
Ritz cracker treat (as you may have noticed in yesterday's video).
Young in spirit, Star was old in years (at least 12 years old).
She and her sister Ash (who is still with us) came to live on the farm
They were both pregnant at the time and delivered their kids in the spring of 2008.
Little Spider...
and his sisters, Stella and (yet to be named... naming was left to her new family).
With no male Nigerian dwarf goats to sire more kids...
the triplets were her only children.
Spider passed away years ago from a urinary blockage (sadly common to male goats).
Stella remains with us to this day.
You may remember that Star developed a mammary tumor a year or more ago.
We knew that she most likely had metastatic cancer,
but she never exhibited an signs of discomfort or distress.
And so, knowing that her days were numbered, we merely allowed
her to live out her days undisturbed... under Dr. Becky's watchful eye.
I am glad that she always had the companionship of her sister and her daughter...
as well as the fainting goat herd.
And so, with a tear in our eyes we say goodbye to Star,
a kind, gentle goat who always took the time to come over and say hello
(or was she looking for Ritz crackers?).
There is no doubt in my mind that animals feel grief.
Ash spent the day in the corner of the goat shed... mourning the loss of her sister.
It was the first time in their lives that they had been apart.
So very sad.
With no plans to expand our goat herd,
Star's passing is a harsh reminder that we will have many more goat passings to endure.
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Xoxo
Mary