Kind Woman Meets A Grieving Mama Goat Whose Baby Was Taken From Her & Refuses To Leave Her Behind
All living creatures deserve love and care.
Julia Volk / Pexels A woman named Caitlin, who runs an animal sanctuary in New Jersey, rescues animals in need of a little tender loving care. She recently shared a heart wrenching story with a happy ending, a tale that touched on how mourning takes root when an animal loses a baby.
The kind woman met a grieving mama goat whose baby was taken away.
Caitlin shared that “while assisting with the rescue of an orphaned lamb at a local farm, I was introduced to this beautiful soul,” a goat named Cecilia. “It was clear to me that she had wry nose and other congenital issues. I immediately thought she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.”
Caitlin’s voice could be heard from behind the camera, telling the goat how beautiful she was. She told the goat, “I just love you so much.”
Upon hearing those affectionate words, Cecilia tilted her head back to bask in the compliment, even seeming to smile. The goat felt the love that was coming her way.
Caitlin gave context for the goat’s heart-wrenching story, noting that “The day before we arrived at this farm, her newborn baby was ripped from her and given to one of the workers at the farm as payment. It was obvious she was grieving.”
Photo: Marcio Borden / Pexels
She quoted the farmer as saying, “Look at her face. There’s something wrong with her. I think she’s inbred. She keeps having these messed-up babies." The farmer told her that the mama goat “needs to go," and he wanted to send her to auction.
“I watched Cecilia closely,” Caitlin said. “She kept looking around [and] randomly calling out. I knew something was wrong.”
The farmer revealed that Cecila’s baby had been taken from her and used as payment for one of his workers. Caitlin reported, “He said she hadn’t stopped searching for her baby. I did my best to get the baby back, but the farmer said the worker wanted to keep the newborn."
She decided that she couldn’t leave the grieving mama goat, so she brought Cecilia to her animal sanctuary to help her heal.
“Although we were not prepared to rescue anyone, we simply could not leave her behind,” she said. “Her name is Cecilia and she will never have another baby taken from her again.”
Caitlin shared an uplifting follow-up on Cecilia, filming the goat in a pen full of fresh hay. Her eyes were bright and her demeanor was relaxed; she seemed way more at ease than in Caitlin’s previous post.
She touched on how she was helping Cecilia through the loss of her baby, saying, “We gave her some stuffed animals in case she wanted to cuddle them during her grieving process.”
Caitlin asked the community to rally around the mourning animal, requesting donations for “this very unexpected intake.” She noted that the goat needed extensive medical care, including bloodwork and antibiotics.
In the caption of her follow-up post, Caitlin made it clear that she wasn’t only asking for money and that she was grateful for the generous outpouring support she’d already received.
“I can’t even begin to tell everyone how hard I fought to get her baby,” she wrote. “We believe in keeping families together. Before I arrived at the farm, her baby was gone.”
Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels
“I have attempted numerous times to get her baby back to her directly from the person who took them with zero success. I’m sorry, I really am. I do my absolute best in these situations for the animals involved– and sometimes, I still fail.”
“This is why I say that running a rescue is hard. Running a sanctuary is hard,” she revealed. “The grief is so heavy and really weighs you down.”
She shared just how heavy it feels, saying, “It’s hard to have any kind of normalcy in your life because these types of situations pop up too often and it’s all I can think about for days, weeks, months… forever. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I get down on myself when something like this doesn’t work out,” Caitlin explained.
Yet it’s clear that she should give herself grace. Not only did she fight valiantly for Cecilia’s well-being, she has devoted her life, labor, and spirit to animals in need.
Caitlin gives second chances to unwanted creatures who need love, care, and a place to call home. In doing so, she’s fighting to make the world a more beautiful place, and she’s clearly making that goal come true.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.