Mornings are busy at FairWinds. There is laundry to wash, coffee to brew, the house to tidy, dogs, cats, two coops of chickens, and six hungry goats to feed. There are water containers to fill and breakfast to cook. It's always a bit of a hurry to get everything done before the day's first customer arrives. So it threw a wrench into the works when Happy goat collapsed at my feet while I fed the girls their morning meal. She struggled to stand and get to the feed bucket, her appetite obviously unaffected by whatever was ailing her.
Times like this are when I am extra glad for the miracle of cellular telephones. I grabbed mine and took a 15-second video of Happy and her out-of-control rear end. I sent it to my veterinarian, and within moments, she messaged me back, "I'll be over by mid-morning." As I continued my chores, I had flashbacks of Happy in the past few days. One day, she was lying off to the side, a little away from the herd. This is not totally unusual, but it was noteworthy. Another time, it looked like she was a bit wobbly when walking up the steep ramp to Billy Goat Gruff Bridge. I gave her a hard look, but she seemed okay. Puzzle pieces were clicking into place, and there had been subtle signs leading up to this morning's dramatic happenings.
The veterinarian arrived around 9:30. After she took the goats temperature (it was low, and she was a little shivery) and examined her, she felt confident that what was ailing Happy was a parasite called meningeal worm. They infect the central nervous system and are carried by white-tail deer, prevalent here in Maine. She gave Happy many injections. B vitamins, steroids, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, and more. She gave the 50-pound goat a dose of oral wormer big enough for a 500-pound horse, and I will repeat that for five days. She left me with a bag full of other medications; some I have to inject under her skin, and others I have to try to get past her sharp teeth.
Getting back to work, I began brainstorming how to help Happy warm up. I remembered that I had a fleece vest that might work. I mentioned it to Rachel, and while I was drying the pup on my grooming table, she dug through my messy closet and found the vest. I looked out the window to see her with a toddler holding one hand, a red vest in the other, and an infant in a backpack. She caught Happy and put the vest on her, zipper side up. It was much too big. Chris arrived to help. He retrieved a zip tie and cinched the back of the vest, making a fetching bustle with the extra fabric.
Happy is a little wobbly but seems better already. She has kept her red vest on, and when I slide my hand between it and her back, she is toasty warm. I will continue to follow the veterinarian's instructions to the letter and hope my Happy goat is soon back to normal.