Have you seen this?
http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/video-full.php
Its beautiful, and painful at the same time....and worth the watch.
Hope this finds you well my friend.
Nikki
Queen Sally heads out again
Posted By Harry on August 7, 2010
Queen Sally in far paddock
What this simple photograph of Avondale shows is a goat who’s made a remarkable recovery. Near the centre of the photo – in one of the distant paddocks – is a diminutive chocolate brown donkey and a once very sore Saanen goat. Queen Sally is the goat on bended knees munching hay next to Charlie. The photo documents the first time in over a year that Sally’s been able to take herself that far.
It was 14 months ago that Sally began walking with a strange gait, and then almost stopped walking altogether. We had 2 different vets look at her and initially neither had an answer. They had never seen it before. (This is a common problem we face with many of our rescued animals – outside of farm sanctuaries mature goats and pigs in particular get expert veterinary care only if they’re prized breeding stock. The rest are ‘disposed’ of rather than cared for with expensive veterinary care. So most vets have little experience in their health problems.)
Sue and I did the usual thing and hit the Google trail, nightly for weeks.’Lame goats’, ‘Goats with abnormal gait’, Goats with funny walk’ all produced the same thing – CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis). One vet sent through a group of articles confirming her suspicion that it was CEA. We did the blood test. Negative. But it can be negative. Just keep her comfortable until she’s ready to go. Avondale was about to lose another goat just a few months after the loss of Sally’s best mate Annie.
Annie
Sally steadily worsened but the picture seemed less and less that of CEA. The only signs were her gait and her resting on her knees. She would walk only a few steps then rest. Another few steps. Rest.
The other vet researched it too and suggested chronic laminitis and that we Xray her hooves. Sue and I changed her diet and began to look at her feet in a different light. Converting my equine hoof trimming knowledge into caprine knowledge I began trimming Sally’s hooves more aggressively and more frequently; rather than 4-6 weekly I trimmed them weekly for a while. And with trimming more aggressively I went through what seemed like normal sole only to find the disease that was causing her pain. And the funny gait. Sally responded immediately and began walking further before resting. But it was a step or 2 further and not a paddock further. And Google assured me that goats with chronic laminitis never recover.
Hence the photo and my joy. That’s about a 300 metre walk and since that photo 5 days ago Sally’s gone further. She heads up the lane way with little Timmy way out in front and BlingBling staying by her side edging her on. After more than a year all 3 goats again join the donkeys and horses in the top paddock. Goat life at Avondale is almost back to normal. And Sally appears to be proving Google wrong.
It’s great to see that Sally is doing better!
The issue of vets not knowing how to care for elderly or other in-need animals is definitely something that all sanctuaries face. Even the answers you find on google often are from the same perspective that the vets have, or maybe breeders. It’s useful, up to a point, but perhaps taken with a grain of salt.
I know at Poplar Spring, they have several animals who they were told could never get better, and to just put them to sleep…luckily Terry and Dave didn’t listen to the vets, because these animals are alive and now well!
The vets mean well, but keeping these “farmed” animals alive is often well beyond the scope of their experience and knowledge.
Yes, it’s often quite a challenge. Fortunately we’ve now found numerous vets who we call on who are prepared to not only seek the advice of true experts in their fields but also work with the knowledge we’ve built up. Despite the occasional frustrations they now understand us and Avondale and we’re quite fortunate.