Goat Addendum

We are just constantly amused by the goats that surround us here, so here’s an update of all things goat:

1) Goats make great presents. We bought our friends three goats as their wedding gift.

If you recall, we were in charge of the gift table at the wedding and there was some question as to our qualifications in the case of live presents. Luckily, no one gifted a live goat so goat wrangling was not part of our wedding-day duties.

2) Downward-facing goat is going to be the hot new yoga pose



3) Goats like to gather under the shade of the old gum tree during the heat of the day with their babies, it's really cute:





4) However you shouldn't be fooled by the cuteness because the goat antichrist lives in Msambweni.

This requires some explanation. A few months ago, while walking between buildings at the hospital, I passed by a certain black goat, that made the most horrific sound. I did the impression several times for E, and I thought that she was going to hit me because it was such an annoying sound. I don’t think that she believed that it was real, but just a few days ago, she finally heard it for herself, and she is now a believer. I was fortunate enough to capture it on film for the very first time to share it with the world. This goat may go viral.



Also, E pointed out that this beast is actually a sheep, not a goat. However, we’ve decided that it’s likely a goat in sheep’s clothing, being the antichrist and all.

5) Pregnant goats appear to have swallowed several watermelon (check out the goat on the left)



6) If your dog bites a neighbors goat, it may evolve into a months-long drama

A few months ago, our friends’ dog attacked a neighbor’s two goats. One escaped with just a few punctures, but the other was bitten in the neck and was having difficulty eating and drinking. The neighbor then demanded that Chris pay him 40,000 KSH (about $500) for damages. This makes very little sense, as a good goat costs no more than 4,000 KSH, thus 8,000 should have been the maximum penalty.

Incidentally, Kenyans know the price of a good goat at all times. Goat prices are the Kenyan equivalent of the Nasdaq. This logic involving the real price of goats did not persuade the man, so Chris had to go to the village elders to discuss the matter. The elders agreed that the man was being ridiculous, and that he only had to pay for the value of the goats, assuming they died. After some penicillin and TLC, both goats survived and have since had baby goats. However, one of the goats had twin goat babies and one of the babies died, which resurrected the goat saga after a two month hiatus. The owner claims that it is due to the “dog poison”, and that Chris should pay him 10,000 KSH (about $125). Chris asserted that his dog is non-poisonous, and again, the price of an adult goat is no more than 4,000.

The guy would not back down so in the spirit of neighborly behavior, Chris offered to pay the man 8,000 and to keep the goats since he would have effectively bought them. The man countered with Chris paying 10,000 and that he keep the goats. Chris realized this was going nowhere so he offered the man 1,000 KSH as an apology with no goat exchange required. The man was so offended by this gesture that he stormed off deciding that making a good scene was better than taking “only” 1,000 shillings.

Anyway, they are an endless source of amusement and traffic jams so we wanted to share them with you all.