Hindel Kidz 29: Welcome Back, Sassy
Hindel Kidz 29
Welcome Back, Sassy
In the middle of September, Jack got a phone call. It was from Sassy and Ebony’s new owner. At one time this guy had 30 goats. Twenty-two of them had come down with CL. He ended up putting them all down. He had bought Sassy and Ebony with hopes to rebuild his herd.
He told Jack he had found a lump behind Sassy’s ear and was concerned it was CL. Even though Jack was almost positive Sassy didn’t get it from his place, he told the guy to take Sassy to their vet and have her checked out. If the lump did turn out to be CL then the guy could return her to Jack and Jack would pay the vet bill no questions asked. Grace hoped the lump would be a cyst or something that could be cured. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Sassy to come back. She didn’t want Sassy to be sick.
Toward the end up September, Jack told them Sassy was coming back. Come to find out, the guy had most likely taken Sassy to the vet on Friday and then left her in the trailer all day and it had been 92 degrees. It was no doubt coming back to Jack’s would be the best thing for Sassy, CL or no CL.
“I know she didn’t get it from down here,” Jack said. “She would have had to have gotten it up there.”
CL is transmitted through the fluid. When Belle was diagnosed, Jack had taken her to the vet and had her lump drained and cleaned out. She was isolated until it had completely healed and then Jack disinfected the whole pen with Lysol. This guy just drained the lumps himself. The fluid could have been left out in the yard. There was no way of telling how long the germs had been active.
Jack mentioned about trying to give Sassy and Belle away for free to Kylie, Bree’s daughter. Bree had said one time she wanted to have a goat so it and Kylie could grow up together. Bree only wanted one of them. Jack told her she either had to take them both or not take either of them. They went as a pair. When you have one goat, you need to have another one so they can keep each other company. Bree never took care of any of the other goats she had. She didn’t want the responsibility.
The only other option was to shoot them. If it came down to that then Sven said he and Grace would take Sassy and Belle and keep them in Rhonda’s barn. Rhonda said they could have whatever animals they wanted over there as long as she didn’t have to take care of them. It would help Jack out. Jack just wanted Sassy and Belle someplace else so none of his other kids would have an opportunity to catch CL. Sassy and Belle couldn’t catch it again. Once you have CL, you have it for life. So in a sense Sven and Grace had saved Sassy and Belle’s life.
Jack made an appointment with vet up in Mt. Vernon to get Belle and Sassy’s lumps removed before giving them to Sven and Grace. When they got to the vet, they found out what Jack had thought to be a lump on Belle was really just a scab from the first time. So they didn’t have to do anything to her. The vet just said to wash it off with the flushing solution he had given Jack the first time. They did have to do surgery on Sassy though. They took out her entire lymph node, which was where the germs lived. They hoped this would kick the disease and prevent any further lumps. Since Belle and Sassy had both been infected they were considered to be contagious even if they didn’t have any more lumps. Jack didn’t want to take any chances.
“Do you have a neighbor who is going to take them?” the vet asked.
“Not exactly,” Jack replied. “A daughter-in-law.”
Since Belle would belong to Sven and Grace they decided not to breed her. She wouldn’t be able to be shown at the fair next year. The vet said if a goat with CL was bred then it was best to not let the mother raise the baby. They would have had to raise the baby themselves.
Jack was going to keep Belle and Sassy up at his place in the isolation pen until Sassy was healed. It would take about two weeks. Since Sassy was technically Grace’s goat now, she had to give Sassy the flushing solution the next day. Jack and Sven had to wrestle Sassy to the ground for Grace to insert the needle. Every time Sassy would jerk Grace would get nervous. She pushed the needle in a little to far the first time, but got enough of the solution in. She had to learn; it was another part of farm life.
Sven and Grace became the proud owners of two goats in October 2010.
Merlin also passed away in October from old age. They really weren’t sure how old he was. Probably ten or so.
