Pygmy Goats
Home Safe
By Bill Busha

Near the top of Rochester Mountain, the traveler looking north views the mountain range that stretches nearly uninterrupted, mile after mile.

It’s an area that feels like a bigger wilderness than it may actually be, and suggests images of nature’s raw edge—meat-eating bobcats, hungry bears and coyotes, and sharp-eyed birds of prey.

So it was with a grim sense of foreboding that some readers viewed the ad that appeared in last week’s Herald: "Lost—Two Pygmy goats. Last seen Sunday on top of Rochester Mountain."

While an adult pygmy goat might weigh well over 50 pounds, these kids were just three months old, with a lot of growing to do before becoming full size. They were a recent addition to the Mike McIntyre homestead, and still settling in, when they were spooked by the family dog and fled into the adjacent woods.

Early and repeated attempts to find them were unsuccessful, and as darkness descended last Sunday evening the search had to be called off.

Another day went by, then another night, and hope of finding them began to fade.

But on Wednesday, an unidentified Good Samaritan came across one of the goats in the vicinity of Mount Cushman, a mile or so distant from the McIntyre home. He managed to wrestle it to the ground, and eventually was able to track down its rightful owners.

A day later, the second goat was captured, its will for independence perhaps diminished by the loss of its traveling companion.

Both goats are now in residence again, report the McIntyres’ and appear relieved to be there. Other than being hungrier than usual, they are in good shape with no ill affects from their adventure.