begins in earnest
here at Road's End
Farm, I find there
other than the garden. I find
myself wondering how I have
ever managed to raise Ama-
deus.
top of that he needed me as con-
stantly as any baby animal
needs its mother. I was so happy
when he was no longer a brand
new baby and could sleep
through the night, and then so
relieved when he recovered
from his serious infection with
the help of two weeks of antibi-
otics. I was again relieved when
he recovered from his serious
dehydration with the help of
another vet bill, IV fluids, and careful monitoring,
and then again after Christmas and his serious
tummy troubles that he this time recovered from on
his own with the help of daily long walks and closer
care. And since Christmas, I have been so relieved
that he has been just fine. Until the first market, that
is.
date, time, and location, I happened to glance out
the window to see Amadeus lying on his side with
a distended belly. This is not, of course, uncommon
around here, so I finished filling my water bottle,
carried the last load of veggies out to the truck, and
went up the hill to check on him. He was worse
than I thought and Curtis and our farm helper,
Noemie, stayed behind to walk him until his anti-
bloat medicine kicked in. To make a long story
short, it didn't, and Curtis brought him along to
market. Later that night when Amadeus seemed
fine we all laughed that Ahmie had just wanted to
come to market; market is one of his favourite
things!
much cashmere, (he only just started losing his
winter coat), he seemed alright again until Monday
afternoon when we came out after lunch to find
him waiting for me at the downstairs door looking
a bit sorry for himself. One has to really know a
goat to know when that goat is sick. I looked at him
and just knew something wasn't right. My two
helpers, Noemie and Lauren, looked at him and
thought he seemed fine--they noted how he didn't
try to head-butt them and was generally sweeter
and nicer than usual. That's when I knew there was
trouble! Normal, healthy Amadeus is a brat, not
always very personable, and sometimes downright
painful. Sick Amadeus is a cute, cuddly, little an-
gel.
the City Council meeting regarding the Oliver
Street Market's location he was too sick to leave.
He was in distress, kicking at his tummy and cry-
ing, bloated, and wanting only to lie down. I
walked him for hours. I was up with him until 2
the vet, and Mom came too; his Grandma always
comes on these trips to the vet. We were at the
clinic for the entire day. Dr. Magnowski, as usual,
was our savior.
as well as a shot of pain reliever and an antibiotic,
Amadeus began to feel better and at last started to
chew his cud again. That night I kept him in our
room hoping he would at last be okay, and hoping
he didn't have a serious blockage. If this were the
case, the only option left would have been surgery.
ing at his belly, his hooves clicking over the floor
as he tried to find relief. I was in tears, for there
was nothing I could do for him and he was obvi-
ously in distress. I fell into an exhausted and wor-
ried sleep only to awaken to what sounded like an
explosion of marbles and water over the floor. I'm
not sure why I wasn't expecting such a mess, what
with all the fluids and stomach lubricants he'd been
administered. Had I known there was going to be
such an exodus from his back end I may have re-
thought keeping him in the bedroom. But he sur-
vived!
happy to clean up such a mess and Amadeus has
again, miraculously recovered. He is high mainte-
nance indeed! But I love that silly little creature
and I suppose he helps me appreciate the little
things; I never thought watching a goat drink water,
eat, or exhibit other normal bodily functions would
bring me such joy.
sleepless nights, yet this year with my little goat has
also brought me such unimaginable happiness, so
much laughter, and such love. Thank you to every
one of you who has followed the incredibly ridicu-
lous adventure of raising Amadeus.
Terri Smith is an organic vegetable farmer in the
Cariboo with Road's End Vegetable Company. She
has a Bachelor's degree in Literature and a diploma
in Art.