06/02/2024
No one will ever be able to replace Bugsy, but there’s a little girl now that got dealt an awful hand of cards so far in her life, and her name is Stevie.
I’ve been mourning Bugsy silently for weeks now, trying to get through my days, trying to find purpose in this whole rescue thing. He was the face of the 5150 Farm and now he’s gone.
I stayed in bed for two days straight. My family was worried about me. My friends were trying to reach through to me. I couldn’t lift my head from the darkness that enveloped me and I didn’t want to.
Then a message came through my personal FB page asking if I would be interested in a blind goat. She was tiny, sickly, and came from a sale barn.
The people who bought her didn’t know how to help her, nor did they have the time to deal with an animal in such poor conditions.
She’s already a Pygmy goat, making her small in size, but she was so severely malnourished and in pain , I could see her spine causing her to look almost like a hunchback.
How could I say no to this? Just because I’m hurting doesn’t mean I can’t help an animal that is hurting as well. I needed her and she needed me, so I drove to go pick her up.
I was expecting a blind goat, but not one that was blind due to double eye infections. The pus was oozing down her face and caked onto her white fur. The stench of putrid sickness emanated from her tiny body. Her ear was also infected from a heavy metal ear tag, that was improperly installed and she shook her head side to side wildly trying to get rid of it.
What was I going to do now? Why would I put myself through another heartbreak so soon?
I shoved those questions aside and took her straight home to assess her condition.
Gently, I washed away as much of the gunk from her eyes with a warm compress, and gave her a shot of Tylan 200. I followed it all up with some Terramycin ointment for her eyes.
I didn’t know if it would help, but it was a start. I gave her some hay and a bit of goat feed to get her acclimated to eating again, being sure not to overfeed her and accidentally cause bloat. Her whole system was out of whack, and I really wanted to do right by her.
The following Monday, I got her in first thing to see my vet. He explained she had double pink eye and gave me stronger eye drops to use. The infection was SO bad, I didn’t think she could recover her eyesight, but he seemed pretty optimistic.
So the days went by, and I was training her to live as if she were going to be blind forever. We did voice training, and I fed her in the same spot every day. She would follow my voice and the taps of the metal food bowl to find where I was. I was amazed at how fast she was learning.
Her name Stevie, should come to no surprise being named after Stevie Wonder, whose disability didn’t stop him from becoming one of the greatest musicians to ever live.
I felt Stevie too, could do great things, I just had to put my grief aside and focus on getting her back to normal.
A week later, I’m happy to say that one eye is completely healed and the other is getting there. Her weight gain has been steady and her appetite and energy level is as voracious as ever.
I know at any time, any one of us can be taken away, and I will not take the time I have with her for granted.
I just want to continue on with her, as I did with Bugsy, showing her all the love I have in my heart and giving her the comfort and safety of a forever home.
So with all of that being said, I’m changing the name of the page to reflect her new journey and share how
she sings her way into my heart as I hope one day, she will yours.
