When Cathy McCarthy heard that a wayward goat was wandering around an Abbotsford neighbourhood, she jumped in her car to go find him.
Sure enough, he was hanging out at Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts on Lower Sumas Mountain Road, where someone earlier had snapped a photo of him waiting at the front door. A sign above him read: All visitors must report to the office.
But there would be no higher education for this kid; this was during spring break so the school was empty. Some young girls stayed with him, put him on a leash, and nicknamed him Goatee.
The cute photo was shared on several Facebook groups, and someone sent it to McCarthy knowing she had the kind heart needed to bring in a stray goat.
The girls were happy to pass Goatee over to McCarthy when she arrived on the scene. Goatee was pretty happy, too. He jumped in the car and took the ride back to the family’s house, like a taxi fare heading to an Air BnB on holidays.
“I always take in anyone who needs a place, person or animal,” McCarthy told The Abbotsford News, and she’s well known for it. They have one pig, two ducks, a handful of chickens, three dogs, a rescued bearded dragon, four cats, and now two goats.
And they have four of their own children.
She said Goatee has been with them now for several days and is “happy as a clam.”
“And my goat (who lost her mate at Christmastime) is a thousand times happier because apparently he makes for better company than the chickens and pig,” she joked.
The McCarthy family is happy to hold onto their guest while his owners find their way to him, and they’ve connected with the Mission and Abbotsford Police and Animal Control to let them know they have him. The rightful owner can contact any of those authorities to be reconnected with Goatee.
In the meantime, McCarthy said, he has plenty of friends and hay to enjoy on his little spring vacation.
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