Bruce was the G.O.A.T!

Martha’s Farm Animal Sanctuary has become a place where farm animals in need can receive the love, compassion, and respect they deserve. At the sanctuary, we specialize in the care and well-being of farm animals who need to be rehomed for a myriad of reasons such as a history of mistreatment or simply an unfortunate change in circumstances. We are blessed to have these farm animals in our backyard and delight in watching them thrive on our ranch.

One particular goat that was in our care, our beloved Bruce, has a great story. Bruce had been raised as a “horse companion” goat and spent the first 14 years of his life living in a stall with his horse friend. One sad day, the owners found that they had to move out of state and would need to sell their horse and find a new place for Bruce. They tried to find a spot for him but it was difficult because Bruce had arthritis and, at 14, he was already considered old for a goat. The owners needed a place to rehome their farm animal and that’s when Martha’s Farm Animal Sanctuary welcomed Bruce to the ranch family.

Up until that point, horses were all that Bruce knew so the day he arrived at our animal sanctuary we placed him in the pasture with another horse that was being boarded at the ranch. The horse immediately took to Bruce and they quickly became good friends.

Bruce in his younger days showing off his personality.

Bruce happily followed his new horse friend back and forth across our big pasture. His affable demeanor and plucky personality had quickly made him a ranch favorite. Unfortunately, Bruce’s arthritis began to get worse and he started to have trouble keeping up with his horse buddy. Our vet suggested we find a more contained environment for Bruce, an enclosure that required less walking. We fretted about what to do, Bruce had only known horses his whole life - we worried that he might not know how to be a goat. 

Then Bruce became seriously ill with life-threatening anemia. Given his advanced age, the vet felt certain that we would lose him and we were distraught at the thought of losing a beloved member of our ranch family. Eventually, with a lot of love, attention, and care, Bruce rallied and survived! He became our miracle goat! 

After his recovery, we decided to move Bruce to the pasture with our little herd of “misfit goats” that live near our barn. It’s a smaller pasture inhabited by our older, feebler, and somewhat disabled goats - goats that can’t keep up with our stronger, working brush goats. 

Bruce had never been with goats before so he was very reticent around them and the other goats were unsure about him, too. Inevitably, they butted horns and, because Bruce’s horns are older and more brittle, he lost a horn in the tussle! Our vet, Dr. Stephanie Klein, tended to his scrapes and fixed him up good as new, albeit now with one horn. 

Eventually, the herd of misfit goats learned to accept him and, for the first time in his life, Bruce became a goat! He spent his days relaxing in the sun with his goat friends and especially loved apples, which he was happy to eat out of your hand. Living out the rest of his days in bliss, Bruce peacefully passed away at the age of 17, which is really, really old for a goat.

Bruce truly was the greatest of all time and we were honored to be a part of his happily ever after. With the generous support of donors like you, we can continue to provide care, respect, and compassion to farm animals like Bruce, the entire herd of misfit goats, and the other farm animals that are now part of our family.