Tink
14-03-2008, 04:30 AM
so i'm thinking i'm gonna get bashed for this as i'm bashing myself and feeling like a hypocrite.
i totally rag on people giving up their pets...but i rehomed the goats last week. here goes the explanation...
i admit, the goats were an impulse thing. i was going through a lot of issues and i think i wasn't in the right state of mind and my boyfriend just wanted to make me happy and said i could get them.
i've never had livestock before and i've found over the last two years that it's hard for me to bond with an animal that is always outdoors.
my original intent was to let them wander inside the house but then i got a wake up call when i saw how thirty pellets of poop could fall out of a goats butt at any random time and scatters everywhere quite well on hardwood floors.
also, the upkeep of their pen in washington weather and my physical issues..i'm not physically disabled..i tend to everyone in the house quite well..but the raking of the wet hay in the rain or snow turned out to be quite more of a workout than i thought. i function but some things that are still being investigated in tests cause me to not really do strenuous exercise very well for long periods of time.
i know it's all my fault. i made all the mistakes that i complain about other pet owners doing which is why i feel like such an utter hypocrite. as i re-read the above, it all sounds like a lot of excuses doesn't it? maybe i should own up to it and just point blank say "i figured out that goats just aren't for me".
anyway...on to the rehoming...
i posted an ad just to see what was out there..my most important thought was not money, it was to see if there was a better home for them...turns out there is a couple down the way that just bought five acres of land and has three children...they want to start a farm and the first things on the list were goats and chickens. they got the chickens a few weeks ago and the kids go nuts just staring at them. they are so excited.
i talked to the wife..she's a stay at home mom..she said she'd probably even let the goats wander in the house and they'd have an extragavant shelter outside for when they weren't in the house (something i haven't been able to accomplish). she said she wanted to make sure i was willing to do this before telling the kids because they would just get so excited and be heartbroken if i didn't follow through. when i called, the husband and wife sounded so excited like they had been waiting for my call all day.
so, i gave them to them for twenty bucks. i didn't want to be greedy but i could really use twenty bucks for some food for my other new kids (the elderly cats i took in..they are starting to really eat a lot more now that i switched them to a quality food).
the husband came by and i helped him load them up on his truck and gave him all their papers...hugged them and said goodbye.
i feel like a jerk..but i think this is the best thing.
he told me where they live so i could drive by and see them in the pasture (which beats my backyard by a landslide).
i feel a little sad but i feel it's for the best. plus, i admit, a little relieved as i've been thinking about it alot lately and the guilt has been riding on my shoulders that they are not getting the best care possible...(something i evaluate with every one of my babies in my home on a daily basis).
i don't feel comfortable unless i feel every critter in my house is spoiled to the max...and well, the goats weren't in bad conditions but they weren't in the BEST ones and that's what mattered to me. i've never rehomed an animal before..it's usually a commitment for life.
i admit i did something irresponsible when getting them. but i hope my rehoming was responsible enough to cancel it out and not have you all think less of me.
*waits to be attacked*...
-tink
i totally rag on people giving up their pets...but i rehomed the goats last week. here goes the explanation...
i admit, the goats were an impulse thing. i was going through a lot of issues and i think i wasn't in the right state of mind and my boyfriend just wanted to make me happy and said i could get them.
i've never had livestock before and i've found over the last two years that it's hard for me to bond with an animal that is always outdoors.
my original intent was to let them wander inside the house but then i got a wake up call when i saw how thirty pellets of poop could fall out of a goats butt at any random time and scatters everywhere quite well on hardwood floors.
also, the upkeep of their pen in washington weather and my physical issues..i'm not physically disabled..i tend to everyone in the house quite well..but the raking of the wet hay in the rain or snow turned out to be quite more of a workout than i thought. i function but some things that are still being investigated in tests cause me to not really do strenuous exercise very well for long periods of time.
i know it's all my fault. i made all the mistakes that i complain about other pet owners doing which is why i feel like such an utter hypocrite. as i re-read the above, it all sounds like a lot of excuses doesn't it? maybe i should own up to it and just point blank say "i figured out that goats just aren't for me".
anyway...on to the rehoming...
i posted an ad just to see what was out there..my most important thought was not money, it was to see if there was a better home for them...turns out there is a couple down the way that just bought five acres of land and has three children...they want to start a farm and the first things on the list were goats and chickens. they got the chickens a few weeks ago and the kids go nuts just staring at them. they are so excited.
i talked to the wife..she's a stay at home mom..she said she'd probably even let the goats wander in the house and they'd have an extragavant shelter outside for when they weren't in the house (something i haven't been able to accomplish). she said she wanted to make sure i was willing to do this before telling the kids because they would just get so excited and be heartbroken if i didn't follow through. when i called, the husband and wife sounded so excited like they had been waiting for my call all day.
so, i gave them to them for twenty bucks. i didn't want to be greedy but i could really use twenty bucks for some food for my other new kids (the elderly cats i took in..they are starting to really eat a lot more now that i switched them to a quality food).
the husband came by and i helped him load them up on his truck and gave him all their papers...hugged them and said goodbye.
i feel like a jerk..but i think this is the best thing.
he told me where they live so i could drive by and see them in the pasture (which beats my backyard by a landslide).
i feel a little sad but i feel it's for the best. plus, i admit, a little relieved as i've been thinking about it alot lately and the guilt has been riding on my shoulders that they are not getting the best care possible...(something i evaluate with every one of my babies in my home on a daily basis).
i don't feel comfortable unless i feel every critter in my house is spoiled to the max...and well, the goats weren't in bad conditions but they weren't in the BEST ones and that's what mattered to me. i've never rehomed an animal before..it's usually a commitment for life.
i admit i did something irresponsible when getting them. but i hope my rehoming was responsible enough to cancel it out and not have you all think less of me.
*waits to be attacked*...
-tink