Remembering Nicholas




This past spring, our middle son, Wesley went with his father to his friend's house and purchased a full blood Boer Goat with his own money named Nicholas. Nick was one of triplets and his mother rejected him, leaving him to be bottle fed. Just before he was ready to be weaned My husband and Wesley went over and picked up Nick so Wes could bottle feed him for the last few weeks. From the day he came home Nicholas was a joy to everyone that he came in contact with. He as goats usually do had his own unique personality and he was probably the sweetest little guy you could ever meet. He used to wear a bell around his neck on his collar and you would always hear it jingling wherever he went. No matter where he was, if you went outside and called him he would not only answer you but come running so that you could give him a hug or a pet. He would follow you around all over the place, he loved being around people. Wesley treasured his goat and he was loved by all.

During the summer Nicholas fell ill with Cocci. Since we were not very familiar with goat diseases the wonderful people on the Goat World message board gave us an idea of what might be the problem. We immediatly took him to the vet and sure enough he was suffering from Cocci and dehydration. The vet kept him over night, and after we took him home, with a lot of tender loving care and meds he recovered and was back to his normal happy go lucky self. About 2 months ago, Wesley went out to feed the goats their dinner as he did every night and to check on Nick. Everyone was fine and happily eating. About 2 or 3 hours later that evening our eldest son went out to do the last check for the evening, and that is where he found Nicholas laying lifeless on the ground. We have no idea what happened, and needless to say it was a very sad evening for all. Nicholas is buried in a grave in our backyard that is frequently visited by all of us. Funny, if you listen closely you can still hear the bell around Nicholas's neck ringing as it always did when he wandered around.

What makes this story even sadder, is that this friend of my husband's that Wesley purchased Nicholas from, was in a tragic and fatal automobile accident that not only took him but his 8 year old son as well. Wesley was very upset with their passing and was greatful to have Nicholas to remember them by. You will often find my son sitting in our backyard visiting Nicholas's grave. He was a great loss to him, and well to all of us. We are thankful to have had the time with him that we did. It is so sad when you know your child is hurting and there is nothing you can do about it. Nicholas will always be with us in our memories and through the few pictures we have of him.