Here’s Comet. You can find him (as of this writing) waiting for a forever home on petfinder.com. He was found wandering a busy street after his owner had abandoned him.

For goats, abscesses, especially on the shoulder, jaw or neck are often signs of “CL” – caseous lymphadenitis, a disease of the lymphatic system. Where there are external abscesses there are usually internal ones as well. This is a contagious disease and one that goat owners try to keep out of their herds. If an abscess ruptures it can contaminate the environment – so often these goats are sold at first sign of abscess, then pass from home to home as they get sicker. This can be a recurring disease that seems to go away but then more abscesses break out.

Chronic wasting disease is another fatal disease that can occur after weight loss. Spread by deer and elk, CWD can be spread to other ruminants including goats.

CAE is yet another goat disease often characterized as neglect or abuse can be passed from dam to kids via milk, this is a big reason for pasteurizing milk to feed kids. Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Syndrome is often seen after progression as enlarged joints. Another form of the disease can show from 1-4 months as progressive weakness, lameness, un-coordination, difficulty in rising after lying down and eventual paralysis.

Still another serious disease is Johne’s (Yo-nees) disease which can affect ruminants, including goats. It is caused by a bacteria that is shed in the manure. It cannot multiply outside the host animal but is hardy and can survive both heat and cold. It multiplies rapidly once in another animal.

These diseases can show weight loss even when the animal is on full feed. While goats are normally very hardy animals, lack of research into their health issues often means that owners have to be proactive in eliminating this from the herds.

As animals pass from home to home they become stressed, which can cause progression of disease on the compromised immune system. And for a number of animals that have ended up in rescue situations it is disease, not abuse, that may be the reason.

There is little more heartbreaking than getting attached to an animal and finding that it is dying from disease. And though the animal may live for a couple of years, in that time it is contaminating the environment for the next animal.

Thus it is up to a prospective owner to be familiar with the challenges and be prepared for all possibilities. These diseases are too important for the goat owner to ignore.

“If Providence didst beards devise
To prove the wearers of them wise
A fulsome goat would then, by nature,
Excel each other human creature.”
~ Thomas D’Urfey

Other articles of interest:

5 Tips To Heed For Goat Rescues

Could You Love A Pygmy Goat?

Lucas the goat

Lucas is an Angora wether, available for adoption in the Arlington, WA area from New Moon Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary. You can find him through petfinder.com.

1. Goats by their very nature are different from many other rescue animals. They are ruminants, meaning they have four chambers to stomachs that are distinctive and they chew cud – a sign of a contented animal.

2. Goats can take cold and heat with shelter but typically do not like getting wet. Dry housing is important and free access to it helps. They are naturally clean animals that enjoy company and can be quite intelligent. However they aren’t dogs, so don’t expect them to behave like dogs.

To illustrate the goat’s “un-doglike” behavior, I have to tell a quick anecdote here. Years ago, family friends kept a few goats for their milk and would occasionally breed them and sell the kids. One kid was not accepted by his mother and so my friends hand-reared him. Their own children became very attached to the little creature and he became a family pet, following them everywhere, just like a dog. And, just like a dog, he loved to ride in the truck. Unfortunately, he had one very bad habit. As soon as the engine turned off, he would urinate. (And believe me, goat pee is a whole lot more potent than dog pee). The family was never able to break him of this habit and never had the heart to ban him from going for a ride. Instead, they did their best to remember to get their ruminant out of the truck before turning the ignition off.

3. Despite what you might hear goats are incredibly picky eaters. They don’t “eat anything” – but they will dine on berry bushes, rose bushes and a variety of other bushes. Goats make very poor lawn mowers as they are naturally browsers. Sheep make much better grazers for grass control. Furthermore, goats are so picky that often if hay is thrown on the ground or stepped on they won’t eat it all. Equally they like their water clean, without debris in it.

4. Research on goats is lacking, and it may be difficult to find a veterinarian familiar with goats. One big difference is that sheep cannot tolerate copper in the diet. Goats, however, need copper in the diet and can become deficient if they don’t receive enough. This can lead to nutritional issues as well as poor color to the coat.

5. Don’t assume that a skinny goat is abused. There are several diseases that goats can get that can lead to weight loss as well as abscesses and other heath issues. This is usually fatal though, with treatment, you can sometimes buy your pet a little extra time.

Additionally remember that the biggest enemy of goats is often canines – dogs and coyotes are the greatest hazard in keeping goats. If you have a fainting goat especially you MUST provide safe, strong fencing as, when they ‘faint’ they are helpless This means woven wire fencing is needed and/or an electric fence. This is not just to keep the goats in but to keep dogs out.

Goats can make wonderful pets but it pays to be ready for the reality of what goats are. Bucks can be quite smelly – an odor that is stronger in some than others. Does, or female goats, find this odor quite appealing especially during the fall breeding season. Wethers (neutered males) usually don’t have the strong odor of bucks.

If you are taking on a pet goat be sure to read up on basic care and stay tuned here for updates on a variety of animals