Goats!

Many of you are aware that when I first came to Haiti, I came to teach animal husbandry. HAFF has had a herd of goats since long before I ever came. I used to spend a lot of time with them. Now I rarely see them.

Yesterday, I actually got to do a bit of goat work! Fr Odeles, our goat caretaker, brought one of the goats to me as I was working in the office with Met Telius. The goat wasn't feeling well. She is usually the first one to start at the food that Fr Odeles brings, but for the last 2 days she wasn't interested.

I checked her over a bit. She was anemic, but otherwise seemed bright and alert. I asked how long it had been since the goats had been wormed. It had been too long. So we made arrangements for Odeles and Met Telius (who is a veterinary agent as well as tailor, church leader and our office man) to worm the goats that afternoon.

While I was checking out the goat Sophie was with me. She checked out the goat. The goat checked out Sophie. Neither one knew what to do about the other. They were pretty wary of one another at first. I think Sophie was thinking , "I've never seen a dog this big with horns before!" And I think the goat was thinking, "That's the biggest dog I've ever seen!" Then, finally, they were nose to nose, both sniffing hard. I think if left alone for a while, they would have made friends! It was a fun interlude in a busy day.