Goat in the house!

When I said my new roommate (Michael) is an animal person, I truly meant it. He was excited to have me bring the goat to the house. He had never been around goats (grew up a city boy) and wanted to learn more about them. I warned him about some of the peculiarities of my goat in particular. Such as how she would climb on the roof if possible. He thought she sounded pretty cool.

I brought Molly over on Saturday in the cold, dark and rainy early evening. My roommate had already fallen asleep when I arrived at the house, so I put Molly in the barn with hay, water and a ticked-off Quimby to keep her company in her new environment.

The next morning, dreary and frigid weather kept me in bed late. Finally, I dragged myself out from under the warm covers to let Quimby and the goat out of the barn. Michael had gone on his weekly Sunday morning breakfast run to McDonalds. I threw on a sweatshirt and some pajama bottoms and slipped outside into the grey chilliness of late fall.

Molly and Quimby burst through the door of the barn as soon as I flung it open. I didn't linger, as the cold was seeping through my inadequate clothing. Molly followed me back through the open garage door and up the two stairs to the "mud room." I left her outside while Quimby and I entered the house.

Michael arrived home not long after, surprised by a hairy beast with curved horns charging at him upon his entrance to the garage.

Michael's dogs and cats were instantly fascinated by this strange-looking dog with horns. He allowed Molly to come into the house (well aware that she was not house-trained) to check out her new surroundings. She stuck pretty close to me, at first. She guarded the kitchen from the unknown animals while I peeled apples to make an apple pie.

Eventually, Molly felt comfortable enough to lay down in the hall outside the kitchen entry. Occasionally, one or two of Michael's dogs would bark at her. The kittens were transfixed, as you can tell from this picture with three kittens staring at Molly standing on the landing of the stairs.

I headed out later in the afternoon to wash my laundry and check on the ponies. When I returned, well after the roommate's bedtime, Molly was laying outside the closed door to his room. I ushered her out the door and into the mud room, afraid she might try to climb into bed with me if I kept her inside the house. I didn't fancy the idea of my goat trying to squeeze enough space at the foot of the bed to sleep next to Quimby. There wouldn't be room left for me!

I'm sure I'll come home to a goat in the house many times this winter, as Michael doesn't like the idea of her getting cold out in the barn by herself. I don't care, as long as she doesn't try to sleep in my room and I'm not expected to clean up any mess! This should make for many interesting stories and photo opportunities...