A Post That is Not for the Faint of Heart

The worst part of owning an animal is the time when you're faced with make the ultimate life-or-death decision:  the one that ends in Death (euthanasia).  The second worst part of owning an animal is what to do with that animal after you've made that God-awful decision.

I had Justy euthanized yesterday.  Even though I logically knew it was the right thing to do, I was still a basketcase all day, until Greg (the vet whom I have known for 20+ years)  finally showed up.  Then the question became:  What do you do with a 60-pound dead pygmy goat?

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when Annie died

I had her cremated...

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when Stuffy err.....  Fluffy died....

I brought her home to be buried in the backyard.

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Toby was cremated and is, I think, still in the hall closet...

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After her dramatic demise, we buried Maria

because she was awfully special (to no one but me!)

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But what do you do with your animals when you've run out of burying holes and it costs too much to cremate them (not to mention having enough room on the mantel)?  Well, I discovered two options here in San Diego: one was D & D Disposal Services.  They pick the animals up and deliver them to a rendering plant.  The other was ThaniCare, who calls ahead to our local landfill to have them dig a hole, and then he buries them there.

The latter may sound rather undignified and kind of gross.  But let me say that I am not a bleeding liberal. I am not a card-carrying member of PETA. I am not a vegetarian, much less a vegan. But I do believe that these animals deserve fair and honest treatment and -- whether they are beloved pets or food animals destined for the table -- a quiet and pain-free death.

 That said, do you have ANY IDEA what a rendering plant does?    This gets a little graphic here... use some discretion as to whether you want to read on. 

The Usual Suspects -- Caprine Variety

Because they are such a huge part of my daily life --

THE DOES

1. Cleo (right) PGCH Canyon Kids Unwritten Law, a black agouti born in 2002 The Grandame, the herd queen, resident Senior Doe, 2nd doe I ever bought; rules the herd with strong indifference.
2. City Lights Texy Garcia (left)daughter of Cleo. goes by Texy. Nearly two years old, expecting her first kids in March. Has illusions of grandeur and believes herself to be a chief muckety-muck simply because she is her mother's daughter.
3. Sunnyslope Pygmys Black Velvet aka Velvet, Velvee, Velveeta. The oldest doe at 10, came to from a breeder in Tucson. Velvet likes to pretend she's a herd queen, but she's like a QB: she want the glory of the ball, but avoids contact. Hangs behind her offensive line, throwing encouragement via vigorous head tosses and bristling of hair. (Velvet pictured below)

4. Dunn Deal Pygmys Cherish another creaky, tottery old goat from my friend in Tucson. Timid, fretful, and one of my favorites.
5. CL All Dark and Soxy a tiny little doe that kids beautifully. Daughter of Lucy (my first kidding!) and a PGCH buck. Brave only with one or two of the other goats; she backs off quickly from most of them.
6. Radiant Pygmies Mariposa an older doe, not particularly friendly, but not unfriendly, just bland. She is built like an incubator and mother of Radiant and Cheater.

More intros to come....