On the 10th of November 2024, Black Goat Farm Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada, rescued an elderly goat named Gigi, who had been abandoned on a remote roadside. The blind 15-year-old goat was discovered on Halloween by animal control, wandering alone. Her condition spoke volumes about years of neglect — overgrown hooves, severe anaemia, pneumonia, and a lice infestation. After spending ten days at a local Humane Society without anyone claiming her, Black Goat Farm Sanctuary stepped in to offer her a second chance.
On an Instagram post the day after Gigi’s rescue, the sanctuary wrote, “We are happy to report that she is settling in very quickly, eating great, chewing cud, and being downright adorable.”
Despite her blindness, missing teeth, and advanced age, the sanctuary reported that Gigi showed remarkable resilience. With round-the-clock care, she made significant progress. Eventually, her pneumonia was under control, and her anaemia improved,
On another Instagram post on the 20th of November, we read, “When she arrived, we could not touch her – she stood in the corner and shook. Now, she melts into scratches and closes her little eyes in pure bliss. We had full bloodwork taken when she arrived, and I had been holding my breath. The results are shockingly good. She was mildly anaemic, which we knew – this will improve now that her lice and parasites are gone. Her liver and kidney values were great – especially for a goat estimated to be 15 years old. She had mildly elevated white blood cells, but that is likely due to the severe pneumonia she had. Her viral panel came back negative, and her mineral panel only had a few mild deficiencies.”
After she completes her quarantine, she will be introduced to her new herd at the sanctuary.
Black Goat Farm Sanctuary is located on a 10-acre farm between Hamilton, Smithville, and Grimsby, in Ontario. They currently run a small-scale farm animal sanctuary helping injured, orphaned and abused farm animals, which include house goats, turkeys, chickens, ducks, guinea hens, pigs, sheeps, and cows.
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