I adopted two 7 yr. old male angora goats from a woman named Kristen in Fall 2003. The goats kept the names Kristen had given them, Alfred and Sebastian. Unfortunately, Alfred injured one of his legs, and in his determination to show that he was still at the top of the goat hierarchy, he did not give himself a chance to heal. Kristen took Alfred back, and he died a few months later.

Sebastian then had no companion for most of a year until I adopted yearling Zazen (named by Shakti) from the county animal shelter in January 2005. Unlike the angoras, Zazen had not been neutered, and I quickly discovered he needed to be, both because of his strong musky smell and his aggressive behavior. It still took several months after the vet did the deed (with the tailgate of her pick-up as the operating table) for Zazen to calm down, and he still very much remains the dominant goat over the reticent Sebastian. Zazen has also been hard on me, the fencing, and the outside of my trailer (fortunately the door that faces the goats' yard is a metal one).

I often wonder why I keep these goats. In the beginning, I mostly got the angoras because my then partner, Shakti, really wanted them. The goats do save me from having to bush-hog and I guess their droppings are improving the land. And of course, like all pets, taking care of them gives a person some satisfaction, but the goats aren't very companionable.