Vigil

Yesterday after I tied the herd out to browse, I went to check on them and found Ozzy passed out on the ground. He roused easily enough, so I thought perhaps in his less-than-stellar health he had simply passed out from the heat. I took him back to the barn and fed him his own trough full of feed and left the others to scrounge.

This morning I found him down. He was conscious, but far to weak to stand. I'm afraid that whatever ailment has been haunting the little fella has come to claim him. He has been resting as comfortable as I could make him in the barn, but he is passing on, I'm afraid. I knew something was wrong when I went out this morning and the usual "let's go eat everything" greeting from the herd was muted and sad; don't tell me that animals don't sense when something is wrong with one of their own. Sure enough, he was back in the pen down on his side.

Those of you who have been with us for some time know that Ozzy was one of the original three goats that I got for my wife, who always wanted one. Mysty was attacked by a vicious dog and died awhile back, and that was a sad time for us. Now it's Ozzy's time to leave us and it's no easier. They have been a joyful part of our family and have more than earned their keep both in the love we've shared and their industrious consumption of the wild growth on our land. I know, it's hard to think of mere goats as more than livestock, and many people eat these creatures, but we have bonded with these guys and simply have not thought of them as food creatures. We get our meat at the supermarket. Under different circumstances it might not have turned out so heart-warming, but rest assured in OUR circumstances, they are people too, just as our dog, our cats, and even the lizard is.

We are on vigil tonight. Ozzy will soon draw his last breath, and we will return him to the Earth the same way we did Mysty, by cremation. Then, with our thanks and blessings, he will find green, verdant pastures chock full of every tasty green thing he favors, until BOB decides where he goes next. I think he's earned an upgrade.