Seven pygmy therapy goats stolen
Owners devastated and just want their safe return
SEVEN therapy goat kids used to comfort patients at Loros hospice have been stolen from near Markfield.
Thieves climbed over a fence and took the four males and three females from the field and stables where they are reared on Sunday July 7, between noon and 4pm.
The owners are offering £500 for their safe return, which could go up to £1,000 as a fundraising page has been set up online.
Meg Ashby, 63, had been taming the four-month-old pygmy goats since birth, with the help of her husband Brian and grand daughters Georgia and Janae.
She said: “They are handled from birth. It takes a lot of care and attention with pygmy goats. You get quite attached to them.
“I was taming them so some of them were in the stables.
“If you keep them in when they are young, you can handle them until they become friendly, then they will come up to you in the field.”
Two of the kids had been to visit patients at Loros hospice’s day unit just two weeks ago, and they also have visits to residential homes and nurseries.
“When they go to care homes, they help people to relax and they ease anxiety. It helps bring back memories of past times”, Ms Ashby said.
“Residents remember dogs they used to have. Some of them fall asleep stroking them.”
The rearer asked people to be on the lookout for the pygmy kids, which each have distinctive patterns.
She said: “They would bleat quite a bit. Please stay vigilant and look out for goats appearing in fields or on allotments or in gardens.
“Have a look on selling sites and see if they match up with the pictures. They all have distinctive marks.
“Four of them were tagged.” Kids being sold without a CPH (county parish holding) number could be a sign that they were stolen.
Ms Ashby said: “We just want them back, we don’t want a fuss. I don’t want people to think they will get into trouble.
“If you have brought them, we don’t mind buying them back.”
The family has been rearing the therapy animals since 2011 and gradually increasing the number they look after.
They had 20 females and eight males before the seven were taken.
They are planning to upgrade security with new CCTV cameras following the theft.
Market Bosworth Police posted about the incident on its Facebook page.
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said on July 9: “They are still missing. No information has come to light to trace them.”
Call 101 if you have any information.
To make a donation to the reward, visit the fundraising page on Facebook.