The following post is an archive of our GoFundMe campaign which began in 2020.
Hello everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all of you. I hope you have an opportunity to enjoy it safely in good company.
Over the past few days our fundraiser was inactive because GoFundMe is changing their internal system and their engineering team was busily working away to transfer all the information of our fundraiser. Since we at the farm are really farmers and animals people our technical abilities are limited and I’m very happy and relieved to say that they fixed everything quickly and the fundraiser is back in working order.
But as I said we are animal people and that’s really what I wanted to talk about tonight. I would like to use this opportunity to take you further back into the past to remember and honour one really special farm resident. On this day three years ago we had to say goodbye to our special goat and good friend PEG. The farm celebrated its 35th anniversary this year and our oldest goat Peg lived over half of that time at the farm. Peg just meant so much to all of us: awesome goat lady, great-greater and greatest grandma goat, banana queen, ancient like a turtle and really just one of the wisest and gentlest goats we ever had the pleasure to accompany through life. I know that Peg was a very special and steady part of the lives of many different people – staff, volunteers and visitors alike.
I’m sure we all have our own memories about spending time with Peg and what she gave us. I certainly know I have mine and I hold them dearly and remember them often. That way she stays close to me, even though she had to move on. Peg had a very long, full, happy and sheltered life; the older she got the more we spoiled her (and all of it so well deserved). When we wrote her obituary three years ago we all wanted to keep her alive in our hearts and our memories. And I’m hoping we continue to do so.
Today I would like to share with you our last car ride together. It is a sad memory that takes me back to a dark day, but it is also a very peaceful memory that is filled with Peg’s trust and attachment to me. It is my last memory of Peg and a reminder that I went with her til her last breath to be there for her and trying to keep her comfortable in my presence. Peg had suffered a stroke a few days prior, and after a first improvement it became clear that she wouldn’t recover. In consultation with all the staff and our vet we decided to go on our last journey with Peg. I was on crutches due to a broken leg, but that wouldn’t stop me on accompanying Peg on this trip, just being there with her when she needed someone on this unfamiliar path. With my cast I couldn’t drive myself so I was able to spend the car ride up to Mill Bay Vet on the back seat with Peg snuggled up in my lap. Normally our goats travel in cages to be safely transported, but Peg was very old, rather weakened now and needed some support to make the journey comfortable. We drove along the highway and Peg just wanted to lay down and snuggle. But when we were on the Malahat Drive Peg started looking out the window gazing at all the green trees, lush nature and astonishing views around us. She somehow took it all in. We spent the entire car ride just very peacefully and quietly snuggled up together. I was just trying to hold on to this last precious time with “my sweetheart” goat and to keep her as relaxed and unworried as possible. We were just fine there on the back seat, we could have driven to the end of the world together. But unfortunately, our destination was only Mill Bay and we arrived there eventually. Behind the clinic we met our vet and friend who knew Peg for many years and together we decided that it would be best not to disturb Peg from her current seat. She didn’t need the stress to be moved to inside the clinic. She was comfortable on the back seat and felt safe in my lap. We said our goodbyes, I thanked her for our time together (all the time wishing it could still have been longer) and I kept my promise to be with her til the end, and then she passed peacefully in my arms.
She left a huge hole in my heart that I’m trying to fill with all the memories of the time we shared. And through that she is still with me every day – just in a different way. I see her everywhere on the farm. This old goat taught me so much, but most importantly she instilled in me my love and passion for all our animals. They are all special and unique and deserve the best care we can provide. And having the animals in our lives really motivates us to keep going every day.
Thank you for remembering Peg with me today – a little goat lady that made our lives so much richer.
Stay safe and healthy, and as Peg would have said: “Keep on smiling and have a banana!”
Claudia
