PeeWee

Farewell, precious PeeWee! Our dear friend PeeWee, a gentle goat rescued in 2004 from starvation at a Fulton County dairy farm, was recently euthanized, surrounded by the humans who loved her.

Always curious, she was often in the center of the action in the main barn: from assisting Abbie Rogers, CAS Animal Care Director, during routine health checks of the other critters, to watching the visiting vet perform dental work on the horses. The barn staff would joke that PeeWee had easily earned an honorary Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, and that she was the resident vet on staff.

When PeeWee managed to break into the kitchen for her favorite snack of apples, she wouldn't just eat a few, instead, she would carefully take ONE bite out of MANY apples in the bag! Even as her body declined in recent months, PeeWee remained curious and perky, and a mischievous member of CAS's "free range" gang.

Since PeeWee’s passing, many people have reached out to share their memories. The following was shared by PeeWee's devoted sponsor:

I was rereading the Autumn 2009 magazine Sanctuary Scene. The Comings and Goings section reminded me that PeeWee the Goat will be mentioned in the next issue. I was PeeWee’s sponsor for a while, and I hope CAS will excuse me for referring to PeeWee as “my” goat. To my knowledge there is no special or heroic story about PeeWee, but she was special to me, so I thought I’d write the “Going" for her.

On my first visit to Catskill Animal Sanctuary I was getting out of my car, and was greeted by a little brown goat. She looked up at me, as if trying to figure out if she knew me, or (if you knew PeeWee) if I had some food for her. I petted her on the head, then she walked off to eat some of the flowers by the benches where the tours begin (which I found out later she was not supposed to do). The next night after my visit, I looked at the CAS website to see the animals that needed sponsors. Hey, there was that little brown goat.

I visited again the next weekend and had my picture taken with PeeWee. During 2009 I was able to visit a number of times. One day in September PeeWee escaped from the new goat area on the hill. Someone took a few pictures of us exploring the grass and bushes just past the drainage ditch. Goats are made for walking on hills, so we had a nice time.

My last visit to see PeeWee was on October 31st which was the last day for visiting in 2009. If anyone remembers, it was cold and rained on and off. Someone put PeeWee’s jacket on her. I thought of her as “The Goat in the Coat.” I felt sorry for her because the other goats would not let her in the goat barn on the hill. She was brought inside the main barn where she was fed, bedded down, and given a massage. I heard that she was in the company of some friendly sheep in the barn.

I received an email on January 7th titled “Sad News.”

I guess you always think that you will have a “next time.”

I thought of “my” goat as a friend. She had a number of physical problems, but she had that smile on her face that made you think she was being brave and enjoying life the best she could. She had no hidden agendas- she wanted food and companionship, which we all gave gladly. There’s a saying, “The more I deal with some people, the more I want to be around animals.” PeeWee was the best example of the kind of animal that is meant in this saying.

When someone chooses to sponsor an animal, how do you make the choice? I always felt that on my first day at CAS PeeWee picked me.