09/12/2024
TW: Immense loss of a loved one
We are incredibly sad to report that we've had a second loss in the herd this week, from unrelated issues. Today, we mourn the loss of our sweet boy Cooper.
We all know and love Cooper. Our hearts are breaking to write this, and we realize there are no words to express how special this boy was. A piece of the herd’s spirit has left us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts. Yesterday we had to say goodbye to the sweetest, silliest, most playful buddy. He was the most social, adventurous, accident prone, chatty goat that ever lived. As one volunteer put it “He is the heart of the herd….social, sweet, curious, and our fighter. Incredibly special and one-of-a-kind boy. His patience, curiosity, sweetness—no other goat would’ve been able to go through what he did with such good humor and personality.”
A little about Coop’s story. Him and his twin sister, Bambi, came to the herd located in the Belmont location at 3 days old. They were so young that they had to be bottle fed. Because of this, they have always been the most social of the herd, and are almost always the ones seen at the many events we have attended over the years.
One day, in the first days of them arriving at the field, the current owner (not the one that bought them originally, but the one that has owned and cared for them along with a vast community over the past 11 years) was taking her daily walk by the field, and saw a baby goat being bottle fed. It was Coop. The person feeding asked if she wanted in, and the rest they say, was history.
"Coopy Doop" was always playful and adventurous. One day he took the owner’s wallet and ran out into the field. When she investigated where he left it, she found a stash of keys, wallets and multiple chains that he had been hiding from people. If there was something for him to explore, whether that be a skateboard he saw his human friend on, or heavy equipment, he was on it!
This also meant he found himself in some sticky situations which caused him to go blind in one eye years ago from some unknown misadventure. He also has dealt with urinary stones, which had us almost lose him multiple times over the years. Starting 6 years ago he had to undergo several difficult procedures. He was a fighter and made it through the surgeries, but some of the side effects made it so he needed extra care, mostly consisting of daily baths.
This last part makes this all the more difficult, but also gives us so much gratitude. Over the years, he has come to love his baths (or more accurately the treats and attention that come with it). He would even jump up and stomp his little hoof if you were taking too long with chores. This has caused all of our volunteers to develop a very close bond with him in his daily baths and care.
He was always so patient, and immediately forgave when it was done and more treats were distributed. To prevent stones we tried to give him as much fluids and he decided he love Gatorade (would drink it out of the bottle) so we began making daily “Goatorade”.
We have been so fortunate to get so many years of our sweet boy. It happened suddenly and without any apparent reason. He was a little off following the volunteer event on Sunday. The vet came out Monday morning (@ Northwest Mobile Vet and Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine - Oregon State University are our heroes) and gave us some treatment to get his electrolytes and food up. We realized Wednesday morning that he wasn’t getting better, despite Winter helping him to keep moving and get sun. He passed peacefully surrounded by several of his favorite humans comforting him. We are beside ourselves with grief.
As one volunteer beautifully put it, “Grief is the flip side of love. The sadness we now feel is commensurate with how much we loved Hickory and Cooper. The fact that we are aware of their absence means we were once graced with their presence. And even though losing them hurts badly, grieving them is an honor because we were so very lucky to have them in our lives."
Please join us in remembering Cooper and feel free to share any photos/memories you would like to remember him with
