While arriving home after a morning out just before Christmas we noticed our dog, Chief and both of our goats, Ollie and Louie were no where to be found. It was difficult to determine how they escaped their two separate pens on our property. We were distraught and I found myself wringing my hands. Did someone come on to my property and take my animals? Who would do this? We called animal control and no German Shepherds were found in our area and for livestock, we found out we had to call the sheriff’s office. A deputy was on the way.
Our family spread out on foot through the woods to try to find our animals or determine what may have happened on our property whilst we were out. We were only away for about two hours, tops.
After receiving a call from Mrs. Stevens from further down Willard Norris Road, we found out all three of my animals decided to dig for an adventure. Chief was able to dig into the goat pen and persuade his friends to go along with him on a journey through the woods. “Come on you two, let’s have some fun,” he said.
After finding a weak spot on the fencing, Ollie kindly used his horns and pushed the fencing down where they could all leap over and take off. Through the foliage they went and made their way to Willard Norris Road. The three animals waited for just the right time to halt traffic and cross the road together and find their way into a neighborhood with kind people.
Chief picked a house with a nice back yard to make new friends and Ollie and Louie were happy to graze new trees. Chief opened the gate himself to enjoy the hospitality of a nice family named Stevens, of whom they were happy to meet.
Because of my forethought of placing Chief’s name and number on his collar for such an event, Mrs. Stevens called me to tell me nothing awful happened to my beloved animals that day. They were safe in her back yard; Chief was playing and Ollie and Louie were enjoying her flowers and foliage for a snack. We have made provisions so no more holiday adventures can take place at Holt Homestead. However, it just goes to show a little fun is needed for our furry friends during the holidays as well.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Two goats and a dog dig adventure