Hi my name is Debbie and I have kept goats for 26 years now. They are wonderful pets and love human contact, standing for hours for fuss and following me about the garden for attention. Recent University studies have proven them to be on an equal footing with dogs in intelligence levels. Owning both I can agree with the findings.

I now have a big problem! Charlie and Cookie are now 3 years old and I have owned them for 2 years. My last boy Cheese who was 12 passed away before Christmas with cancer he was having treatment for. He did not suffer and had a wonderful summer having been diagnosed in February 2018. Charlie my biggest boy was playing before Christmas and has damaged a tendon in his front lag and requiring weekly vets visits to splint the leg to rest the tendon. He is responding to treatment now but it is still ongoing at the moment.

His brother Cookie overnight almost two weeks ago now went from being a normal happy goat to being collapsed and unable to pass urine. The emergency vet was called immediately. I have never had this issue before but it turns out this is quite common in male castrated goats and sheep. In this country it is common practice to castrate male animals as soon as they can. This however removes essential hormones that make the urethra develop to a normal size. In a lot of males this than leaves them with a very narrow tube for urine to pass through.

This brings us to the other issue. Very little research has been done in to goat health. They are a cheap animal and many that are ill if not pets are just destroyed if ill. Anytime a goat needs treatment including drugs the vets have to warn the drugs used are “off licence” as they don’t really know if a) the drug will work or b) it may harm the animal. Also as goats are ruminants they don’t know if oral drugs get through the stomachs to do what they need to. All of the drugs used are created for other animals, horses, cows etc. so it is with hope that they work.

Poor Cookie was so poorly. My vet referred me to a specialist vet who said they may be able to help. After kidney and bladder scans he was found to have large bladder stones and the only course of treatment was surgery. I have fed all of my goats over the years on the recommended goat foods and have never had any issues. The vets have informed me that these foods in some goats can increase the chance of stones occurring and with the smaller urethra they cannot pass through.

I was faced with a choice, destroy him or have the surgery. The decision had to made immediately as he was so ill. The vets had done a thorough assessment of him and he is a perfectly health goat other than this issue. I said I would give him a chance as he is so young and otherwise totally healthy. He is such a little sweetie and he and his brother are inseparable. Charlie took to sleeping in all weathers outside Cookies pen so he could be as near as possible to him as usually the sleep cuddled up together. I have coaxed him in to my front porch now for shelter where he can still see his brother. The surgery went well but we are having some post op issues with infections and pain so the vets have been out 3 times so far and he is on 4/5 injections a day for the moment for pain and infection. Today has some improvement thank goodness. He has a catheter coming out of his side which will have to stay in for a few weeks or a couple of months until he can wee on his own.

This is why I am doing this fund raising. I am desperately in need with help with the mounting vets bills for both of my boys now. So far I am looking at £2000 plus between them and have maxed out my credit cards and savings etc. The vets at both practices are so far being very understanding and are giving me sometime to pay for the treatment but things are very tight and a bad timing issue financially for me. All of my goats would have ended up going in to the food chain if I had not purchased them as pets. They are such wonderful creatures I don’t regret getting them for a moment. My vets and other vets have commented on how lovely and well looked after my goats are. The perfect living conditions my vet has said. This has completely floored me and has been so stressful. I hate to ask for help but this is a very desperate time. Thank you for reading their stories and any help anyone can give is most gratefully received. Best wishes Debbie.