In Honor of Baaart...June 20, 1991 - Sept 30, 2009 The "Best Goat Ever"! |
 | To all my friends....I bid adieu...
The world is nicer...because of you!
My time has come...to say good bye...
I'm off to the big carrot patch in the sky! Hey...what do you want! I'm a goat! It rhymed, didn't it? Ha Ha...I even got dressed up for the occassion! Don't be sad...Celebrate my life! Look back with me to find out why I'm "The Best Goat"...Ever! |
 | I was only 8 weeks old when Dottie came to my farm, looking for the "best goat"! She chose ME from out of our herd of 20 babies! How lucky was I! She brought me home, and introduced me to her family and friends as her new "kid"! I was a bottle feed baby! That's how we bonded! We got to do a lot of hiking and mountain climbing! I liked rock hopping across the rivers the best! I was made for that! |
 | My best place to hike was up in the White Mountains in New Hampshire! |
 | I had to wear these silly antlers...but I really did like them! Every body would take my picture! I had a fan club going, of people who loved me! |
 | I never realized that not every goat had my kind of life! I got to go everywhere! And spoiled???? I did'nt realize I was even a goat till someone pointed to me and said "Oh look...a sheep"! That's when I learned I was a goat. It's not a bad thing... and it didn't matter, anyway! I was Baaart...the Best Goat Ever! Did I tell you I picked out my own name? When the kids asked...I told them Ba-a-a-rt! So it stuck! |
 | Our friend, Mike, let us use his 'bob cat" and I got to climb on it! It was so tall...and fun to hop on. He didn't mind at all! I felt like a big guy when I was up that high...being a Nigerian Dwarft and all... |
 | Here we went to visit our friend... "The Vet"... Chip! He moved his practice from Billerica, to Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Dottie took all of us for a visit! We were all ready for a picture.... |
 | ...when Penny the chicken decided to jump onto Chips lap...making Lenny the Lounge Lizzard run up to his shoulder...which scared the snake, that startled Spike the Hedge Hog...causing him to roll up into a ball and roll around on his lap! Ouch! Got Chip a little nervous..I'll tell you! Ha Ha! And he couldn't move because he had my leash in one hand and Monty in the other! It really was funny! What was even funnier, was when he tried to explain to his new helper (it was her first day on the job), that it wasn't like this every day! |
 | Talk about being surrounded in love! I was the masscott for the 4- H Explorers....It was our club for Tara, Dotties daughter (kinda like my "kid" sister!) and her friends! We always had a great time, off exploring something! The kids in her troop all had their own critter to walk around with, when we did shows at the Billerica Town Days! Every body would come over and give us lovings! We got invited every where! |
 | See the fence behind me and my friend Katie? One of Dotties co- leaders husband made the mistake of telling Dottie, that they had it made running the 4 - H meetings every week! So Dottie asked him if he would like to run a class, and teach them how to build a portable corral for the event we would be doing! Well...by the time the class was over...HE was exausted! All he heard for hours was ...Mr. Doherty...Mr. Doherty! He gained a deep respect for what our leaders do...I'll tell you! So they built us this corral...but none of us critters wanted to be in it! We wanted to mingle with the people! So that's what we did! And everybody loved us! |
 | I'm glad they have this little one patting me on that end! Usually...when they're this young...they grab on to my ears to get their balance, if they start to wobble! |
 | One of the coolest places we use to walk was Great Book in Carslile, Mass. It was a beautiful, peaceful place with trails meandering through the forest! We always had a crowd of friends walk with us! And I always led the pack! |
 | When Dottie worked in Boston...I had my own cubicle in her office, on the second floor! On the first floor was a drop in day care for seniors! I got to visit every Wednesday! They called it "Farm Day"! After Dottie taught the councelor my tricks, she'd send me down on the elevator, all by myself, if she got too busy! When my visit was over...they would call her office, and send me back up in the elevator, where I would walk down the hall, back to her office! |
 | I would "make the rounds", eating a little bit of grain from everybodys hand! Oh...they loved that! And so did I! You'd be surprised at how many of them remembered having goats as a child! And talk about lovings! It was a two way street! When it was time to go back to "the office"...every one felt good! Including me! |
 | I had a bunch of tricks that I would do to amaze them! I would stand tall on my hind feet...hop up and down, and the favorate was when I wore a silly pink tu tu, and twirlled in circles! That got everbody clapping for me! I loved it! |
 | One day, Dottie brought in her baby turkeys! I had to share the spotlight that day! |
 | The turkeys were lucky, because they could fall asleep in their arms...I tried...but I was too big! |
 | This was Dotties favorate baby turkey. She use to carry it around in a sling! |
 | I was welcomed everywhere! Here...I'm at O'Connors Hardware in Billerica, Ma. I got to go in and say hi all the time! Here...I was a reindeer with the silly antlers, again! But the people loved it! Funny Story: One day, around Christmas, Dottie brought me into Market Basket to see her friend who worked at the film counter! A little girl was being held by her father. When she saw me...she said "look Daddy...a reindeer"! He said..."there's no reindeer in here" The little girl said "LOOK" and pointed to me! He believed her now! Then the manager came running over...and told Dottie to stay right there, don't move! (Dottie thought she was gonna get arrested for having me in a food store.) When he came back...he had a poloroid camera and was taking pictures of us....so Dottie grabbed the camera, placed me in his arms...and started taking pictures! That man looked like a little kid on Christmas morning! |
 | Dottie called her friend Donna, at Donna's Hair Solon, in Billerica! She asked Donna..."do you do kids?" Donna told her to bring me in...so she did! Well...wasn't she surprised! What a great day that was! All the people in there had a great laugh! |
 | I even got a a cookie for being so good! How do you like my fake locks! She did a good job! If I must say! |
 | Did you guess the Fourth of July? Yep! And I wear those colors proudly! |
 | I'm at the top of the world! Well...almost! I'm at the top of Mount Manadknock! We hiked it with Chip and his dog Georgia! Ya...his dog thought she was all big and brave, chasing me around! Well, when I got tired...I reared up to head butt her...and she ran crying to Daddy! Scaredy cat dog! |
 | Oh! And this is Melissa... my 4 - H 'er from our second group! (When Tara grew up, Dottie and I started the second troop of 4 - H Explorers!) You know!...4 - H was so...much...fun! I would recommend it for any kid or critter! As a critter...what did I get out of it, you might ask? Well...for starters...I gained friends I'll have for life....and ..beyond! Ha Ha! I got to do things no goat has done before! I got to see cloud shadows move across mountain tops! I got to go boating...and tubing! How good is that! We got to follow roadside brooks... just to see where they ended! We canoed the Concord river and slept in tents! Sledding...and tubing on the laps of my human friends! Ahhhhhhhh...to be a kid again! |
 | And this is Chad...Melissas brother...and also a member of our 4-H Family! We're taking a nice quiet break after mingeling with all the towns folk for Earth Day! That's Eeyore, behind us! |
 | Look what they did to his tail! And I thought the wearing antlers was embarassing! He didn't mind it though! He really liked all the attention! |
| |
 | Awe... he's drooling on me! But that's okay...the young ones tend to do that alot! At least he didn't bite my ear...or gum me to death! Ha ha! Hey...Ever notice how young humans smell like cookies and milk? Well...most of the time, anyway! |
 | And you would think this is just a picture of me with the Easter Bunny, hunh? Well let me tell what what really happened that day. Dottie had her annual Egg hunt at Great Brook State Park! Each kid brought a plastic bag to put the eggs in, a dozen decorated...hopefully hardboiled eggs...and a small prize or two. The adults would hide the eggs in the woods...and the kids would play games in the field 'till all the eggs were hidden. Well...when the hunt was over...the Warden of the park came up to Dottie, all upset because she didn't have a permit for over a hundred people! She said it was only her friends and people she invited that were in the parking lot or on the trails! Well...her Uncle Johnny...who just happens to be in the bunny suit...got upset...and the bunny ears were flopping! When he went to take the bunny head off, Dottie stopped him...saying..."No...No...you can't take that off in front of the kids"!
|
 | And will you look at this! This is Dr. Teddy, our Vet. Her daughters were our "Flower Girls" at Joe and Dotties Midieval Wedding! Tara made their princess gowns. I was the ring bearer. Melissa and my friends made me the tux! The flower girls had to have a bouquet of fake flowers because I would have eaten them. Hey! I'm a goat! Dottie and Joe didn't exchange rings because they both work with tools...so she wrote the word "ring" on a piece of paper, and they exchanged that. Then I ate the paper! |
 | And this is Priscilla...Dotties Boss in Boston, at Women in the Building Trades! This picture goes with the story of when Dottie walked away...and left me with Priscilla, when she was on the phone with someone from California. When I saw Dottie walking away...I started calling for her to come back...but it came out baaa baaaa baaaa! I heard Priscilla say..."that was a goat. ...yes....this IS Boston....yes...it was a goat...so anyway...as we were saying..." ! She always had a smile when she saw me walk through the door! They all did! And then they raced around picking up any stray paper, paper clips, tacks, stamps....and anything else that looked good to eat! One time...they couldn't find me! I was chowing in the recycle bin...it was like a buffet in there! Another time...I chewed the corner of one of her students homework papers that she was correcting! She had to write a note on it to her student..."I'm sorry my goat ate your homework"! She believed it...because they all knew me! I'm a goat! |
 | And here are some of my friends that are waiting for me to join them on the other side! Well...except for Eeyore...he lives with Jane now on the Alpaca farm in Carslile, Mass. Sunny was the "Best Horse, Ever"...he was the best friend that a goat could ever have...besides the Blonde Chick (who's the "Best Chicken, Ever")! And Paco...he was "The Best LLama, Ever"! |
 | Paco would just stand there loving the lovings! |
 | Dottie would call us "The Brat Pack"! We went everywhere together! And I was the leader! |
 | Ahhh...Sunny! When the kids in the neighborhood saw Sunny go by with a saddle on...they knew they could ask for a ride! One little boy came running out of his house with one shoe on...holding his other sock in his hand. His mom was running behind him with a sneaker...trying to catch up! He got his ride after he got his other shoe on! |
 | We got to run along Hampton Beach, in New Hampshire! I was always last when there was running going on. Sunny and Eeyore were way to fast! Even faster than Solly! |
 | When it was hot...Dottie would take us to a pond in Great Brook. She's hop off Sunny and let him go play in the water! He loved the water! He would sit and splash for as long as Dottie let him. He liked it the best when he would get out deep enough that he would float! He'd moan, and pull his lips back in a smile! Me...I didn't care for the water! I was too busy eating the sweet grass and clover! |
 | This is Ben and his puppy, Wrex. Dotties friend asked her why she named him Wrex...as he was chewing a hole in her sweat shirt sleeve. Dottie said...'cuz he wrecks everything! He's a corker! I'll tell you! But Ben...what a gentleman he was! He had a fan club of people who loved him, too! Dottie rescued him from the pound! For that he was forever grateful! When Dottie brought Wrex home...there was Ben...standing at the sliding glass door...with Wrex hanging off his lip. Ben was wagging his tail...asking..."Can we keep him?...Please?" |
 | Dottie was at her office, when her friend, Cheryl walked in and handed her a puppy and said a man had a litter...and couldn't feed them...so she was finding them homes! This is how tiny he was when he first joined our family! |
 | Wrex got to learn from the Best! He...too...is grateful his lifes journey brought him to Dottie! |
 | Ben would go down to the Senior Center and play catch with the folk there! One man would not move or talk...that was 'till Ben started to play with him. The man would throw the ball high in the air...and Ben would always catch it and bring it back to him...placing it on his lap...dog slobber and all! This made the man smile, laugh, and be happy! Ben had a whole bunch of tricks too! You can see why everyone loved him! |
 | Lenny the Lounge Lizzard, was with us for over 17 years! One time...he was resting up on the shelf...next to all the stuffed things Dottie had...so she asked her Brother to get "that" for her, as she pointed to Lenny. When he went to reach for "it"...Lenny turned his head to look at him...and Wayne yelled...."You should have told me it was alive!" Another time...he was resting in the branches of her Christmas Tree! A friend was over checking out the orniments, when she saw Lenny move ...she screamed! There's alot of Lenny Stories! He had a fan club, too! Of people who loved him...expecially Heather...our 4-H kid! |
 | I loved this Emu! This is Big Bird! She could spot a tick and peck it off you before you even blinked! She was 7 days old when Dottie brought her home! Funny story, and I was with her on our way to visit Chip! She stopped at a restraunt for a breakfast...and before you knew it...she was heading over the owners house to see the new clutch they just hatched! So that's how she came to be part of our family! What a great loving creature she was! It will be so good to be with her again! |
 | One time we caught up with her aunt Carol...(who's more like a sister), and drove out to Route 2. We got to hike the trails there! Everybody always thought it was "cute", how Big Bird would go and peck at shiny stuff...like diamonds and zippers (funny stories in themselves!) Dottie always had to warn people...she is NOT responsible for loose stones! They were on their own! Well...Big Bird snatched the watch right off Carols wrist...and Carol knows karate....right...Grasshopper! Ha |
 | Tara had to get use to sharing her home with all kinds of Critters! She would throw a Frisbee and Big Bird and the dogs would chase after it! When the Frisbee landed...and she always got to it first...she would stomp on it like a hat dance....and then back off so the dog could pick it up and bring it back! They would love to sit and watch T.V. together! Sometimes, when we had company...she would spin on her back, break dancing in the middle of the floor, just to get everyones attention! She loved to snuggle with Dotties parents...or any other arms that were available! Her long neck just draped over their arm...and she was asleep! |
 | This is our young friend Samantha! She's all grown up now, and in high school! Big Bird loved everybody! And everybody loved her...human and critter alike! |
 | Ha Ha! Here's another funny story! One time Dottie went outside, Wrex was laying down with Big Birds neck across his front paws. Her usually fluffy long neck looked like a piece of hose, with two holes in her head! Dottie ran down the stairs to yell at Wrex to stop ...thinking he hurt her. Big Bird raises her head to say..."What's the problem?"......and Wrex just shrugged and said..."but she likes it"! Then she just lowered her head across his legs and he continued to lick her neck! He was licking the oil on her feathers (which...by the way is really good for arthritus!) The two holes in her head were her ear holes! They were licked clean! |
 | Dottie left the house telling us that she was bringing home the bacon! We didn't realize it would come in such a cute package! |
 | This is Miss Piggy sitting for a treat! She did the same tricks as the dogs! She was way to smart! She was house broken in two days! She would lay down, roll over, give you her paw, and kisses! She walked off and on a leash,jumped into the back of the truck(till she got too big, and Dottie had to boost her alittle!) and rode around town while she ran errands! Funny stories... One day...all the kids were over, and we were all watching TV! Miss Piggy knew her feet were not allowed on the couch...so she backed up...and dropped her weight onto the couch. She broke the leg on the couch...just as "the Man"...was pulling into the driveway! The kids ran and stuffed a brick under it so he wouldn't know! |
 | Ahhhh...Pokey...the little Puppy! What a neurotic little dog she was! But she took protecting us very seriously. Of course if she really got scared...she'd run and hide behind Dottie! But she was fun! Miss Piggy and her both had black spots...so they said they were related! Here's another funny story...when Dottie was taking us for a walk to the corner store, a tractor trailer went by...slowed down...then pulled into the parking lot where we were headed! A man jumped out of the truck and yelled back to the driver...."it IS a pig...I told ya....he thought it was a big uguly dog! Ha ha...I just won 5 bucks!" So Dottie had him hold our leashes so she could go into the store. That gave him something to talk about when he got home, I'm sure! |
 | And this is Spike...the hedge hog! She was just the sweetest little thing! When she gets scared...she rolls up into a ball! The dogs learned real quick not to sniff her! One time she was on the counter and started to go over the edge. Dotties hands were both full, so instead of letting her drop to the floor...Dottie hip checked her to stop the fall and then put her on the floor to walk around. Dottie had a hundred tiny spots of blood from all those sharp needle things that stuck her.... But Spike didn't get hurt! That was a good thing! |
 | This was my buddy Billy! He was bigger than me...so he got to carry the backpack with our food and drinks! He didn't mind at all! A snooty lady on the trail with her friend told Dottie.."Dogs aren't allowed on the trails". Dottie told her..."They're not dogs". They left in a tiff! |
 | One time we took Dotties friend that she met at the Millbury Carpenters Training Center. Carol said she camped before and would like to go...so Dottie brought us all up to Mount Chachora. We knew we were in trouble...when Dottie did a pre check of her back pack to make sure she had everything she would need! Carol packed a hair dryer! Where we were going...there was no electricity! There's a cabin chained down on the side of the mountain, we reached it as it was getting dark. Carol started to panic...that there was no people...anywhere! She wanted to go back in the dark...but Dottie wouldn't let her. It was way too dangerous. So Dottie cooked dinner, fed us and got the cabin ready. Carol was so afraid that Billy and I would attract bears...that she didn't want us to sleep in the cabin. Dottie made her get over that...too! When we woke up in the morning...Dottie cooked us breakfast, and then we thought we'd finish climbing to the top...but Carol wanted no part of it. She wanted to go down...so we did! You would have thought we had the worst time...but when SHE started to tell the story....she said that was the best time she's had in along time! |
 | When she brought Harley home...she called all her friends to come see her new Harley! I don't think they were expecting a pig! They loved him anyway! And his buddy Malcom the goose, and the baby turkey! We never even thought about being different! We were all family! And soon...I'll get to be with them again! How good is that! |
 | And to my Buddies Galahad, Donk E Oaty and even Solly...work hard to learn all that you need to know, so Dotties dream of putting on a show for the Double H ranch becomes a reality...and not just a dream! Remember...guys...the show must go on! |
 | Thank you for all the back scratches! |
 | And thanks for all the love! |
 | Thank you for your friendship! |
 | Thank you for all the treats and goodies! |
 | And to all our friends who came to visit!!! Thank you so much for sharing your time with us! You made ordinary days become special! |
 | Thank you for remembering my favorate songs and playing them on the harmonica for me! |
 | And Blonde Chick...Thank you for being my friend...even when "the others" gave you a hard time about having a goat as your best friend! That ment so much to me! I'm really gonna miss you! You sure are a special chicken! You're the "Best Chicken...Ever"! |
 | Joe...Buddy... Thank you for cutting the fresh grass for us! |
 | Thank you for sharing your home! It was a great place to live out the rest of my life! |
 | Thank you for all the attention and all the affection you gave to me! For all the back sratches and all the apple and carrot peices you cut up for me....Thank You! |
 | Thank you for understanding that I was not just a goat...but a very loyal friend! And that's how you treated me! |
 | Dottie...you've been my friend and companion for 18 years! We have been through so much together! |
 | Thank you for always thinking about my comfort! |
 | For all the walks in the woods...for all the people and places we got to visit...for all the love you gave me through our years together...Thank you! |
 | Looking back...I realized how lucky a goat I was to have had the life I did! You all have been "The Best People...Ever"! Here's my last funny story...okay? Dottie was at her friends, Dawn and Mikes wedding. Dawn brought Dottie over to a table to introduce her to her Aunt Judy. Judy looked at Dottie...and said..."I see animals all around you! Not just the regular ones, like cats and dogs...but "different" ones...all kinds of critters"! Well... all those guys are waiting for me to join them, so they can show me around! |
 | Ahhhhh....sigh.... How good is this! Get my ears rubbed, my head scratched..my neck massarged! Dottie's telling me I'm the Best Goat! And how much she loves me...and how happy I made so many people! I'm telling her...she's the Best Human...and I love her. I'm tired now...I think I'll just snuggle here with Dottie....and go to sleep! See you on the other side! Remember...every day is a gift from God. What you do with it...is your gift back! Make it a good one! I love you...good night! |
| |
| < Back | Back to About Critters! And Life Goes On... |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
