We were going to buy some hay for our animals at a nearby auction place and were loading it into our van on Tuesday night, when Patrick brought my attention to a large herd of white little baby goats (about 50 of them) in a holding pen. They had been auctioned off and 3 men were quickly grabbing them to haul them away as it was late, dark, cold and foggy.

Later, Patrick went back to where he had seen the goats and he suddenly spotted a little one laying listless on a dirty cold floor covered with urine and waste. He asked one of the men, “What happened to the one on the floor, aren’t you taking it?”. The man shrugged and said, “He is dying, so we are just going to leave him there.” Patrick looked appalled and said, “We rescue animals, we have a sanctuary, we can’t just leave him to die.”

Patrick came over to me and told me about it. Then one of the men came over carrying the baby goat, cold and limp in his arm, his little head dangling. He put him in Patrick’s arms and said, “You want him, there he is, but he looks like he is not going to make it.”

Patrick gave me the little one. I went into the van and put him against me, cold and wet, smelling like urine, under my jacket. I kept feeling for a heart beat against his skinny little body to make sure he was still alive along the ride to a friend’s house, trying to navigate in the fog and praying he would not die before we got there.

We finally arrived with him in my arms and said, “We have an emergency!”. When the 2 women in the back saw him, they held their breath, thinking he had died. But there was still life in him and a faint breath.

Our friend has goats, and she had milk and colostrom on hand. We warmed it up and wrapped the little one in blankets and a heating pad. I dropped a little milk on his tongue with a small dropper. His mouth was cold, without movement. We finally got a bottle of warm milk with a nipple and tried getting it in his mouth. After much coaxing and encouragement, he started to slowly suckle. Then it became stronger and stronger. After 5 or 10 minutes, he raised his head and held it up.

It was as if he suddenly came back to life. We all cheered in Alisande’s kitchen. It was a real miracle! We thanked our friends. I tucked him back under my coat and we brought him home.

We named him Pax, meaning peace. Yesterday, he ate well, but today his appetite has faded along with his energy levels. We need to bring him to a vet to ensure this miracle stays a miracle! But we lack the funds for vet bills–and on top of it, our source of goat’s milk is about to dry up.

How You Can Help

Monetary donations towards Pax’s vet bill are especially appreciated. We also need local sources of raw goat’s milk to feed Pax. If you would like to help, please contact us. All donations are tax-deductible.

Update 01/23/13

It has now been 6 weeks since we rescued Pax.

Overall, he is doing well and he has tripled his weight. However Pax needs a lot of vet care because of the poor conditions of his birth and the trauma he had suffered when we found him at the stock yard. He practically has no immune system, having been deprived of colostrums at birth, so he has been prompt to various infections and complications.

We want to give him the best chance at surviving and we found a very good vet who is working with us to help Pax. We also need to buy milk replacer now to feed him and it is quite costly.

Would you give little Pax a chance for a good life with a donation to Cloa’s Ark Animal Sanctuary?

With love,
Patrick and Claudine Veistroffer