Relief as four stolen goats now back home
Three therapy pets are still missing
A FARM owner was relieved to be reunited with four of her stolen goat kids that were taken near Markfield.
Meg Ashby, 63, was delighted to hear that her four-month-old pygmy goats had been picked up on a motorway bridge, although another three are still missing.
The baby goats were taken from the field and stables, near Markfield, where they are reared on Sunday, July 7, between noon and 4pm.
Just two hours after Meg and her husband Brian had taken posters round to vets and rescue centres, they had a call to say the foursome had been found.
Meg said: “I’m ecstatic at getting the four goats back and very grateful to the ladies who stopped to catch them from the road and to The Park vets in Glenfield for phoning us.”
“I swear my guardian angel was watching over me that night. Two of the therapy goats were in the bundle and two wethers”, Meg said in a Facebook post. “I am so grateful to that lady but also to you all out there who are helping us by sharing to your groups.”
Meg has been taming the fourmonth-old pygmy goats since birth, with the help of her husband Brian and granddaughters 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 them were in the stables. of
“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 before they were taken, 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”, Meg said. “Residents remember dogs they used to have. Some of them fall asleep stroking them.”
She 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.”
Kids being sold without a CPH (county parish holding) number could be a sign that they were stolen.
The family are planning to upgrade security with new CCTV cameras following the theft.
Call 101 with any information.