Maggie

 

Maggie ~

Maggie was born in February of 2003 and she came to live at our farm in the spring of 2004.

About a year later, I’m not sure how, but Maggie hurt her foot.  We penned her up in the barn in order to take some of the stress off of her foot and to let her rest.  Maggie DEFINITELY took to spoiling and before long, she was only limping when she noticed you watching her.  J  Needless to say, she was turned back into the pasture with other girls and surprisingly enough, she got along just fine.

About 2 years after that incident, it just so happened that we had a snow day and I was home from work.  No one else was home and all of the vehicles were gone.  Well, it was a good thing that I ended up being home that day because Stormie got sick.  I had no idea what was wrong with her, but thanks to some good people on line I was able to diagnose her and helped find some treatments to give her with things that I happened to have around the house.  It turns out that Stormie had milk fever, which is life threatening.  I spent the bigger part of that cold snowy day sitting on the floor of the barn beside Stormie alternately syringing coffee, tums and milk down her.  At one point when I was walking through the barn, Maggie came walking up to me and she was limping.  She continued to limp and look at me with pitiful eyes for quite some time.  I finally looked at her and said, “Maggie, you are just going to have to wait until your daddy gets home.  Stormie is very sick and I have to try to save her life.”  Now I don’t know that Maggie understood everything that I said, but I do know that goats are smart and that girl immediately stopped limping around and went with the rest of girls leaving me to tend to Stormie.  (Stormie made it by the way and is still a big part of our farm family).

From time to time throughout the years, when she felt like maybe she wasn’t getting her share of the attention, Maggie would pull the old limping trick.  It usually worked for her and she could get just about anything she wanted.

Two weeks ago Maggie started acting a little draggy.  Within a couple of days, it became obvious that she was getting very sick.  We began doctoring her, but a few days ago she quit eating (except for a few of her favorite treats, animal crackers).  Monday night she wouldn’t even eat any animal crackers, but she did eat a piece of bread.  It is with tears in my eyes and a great sadness in my heart when I tell you that I went to the barn on Tuesday morning to find that Maggie had passed away in the night. 

Maggie – You will be truly missed ol’ girl.

Dedicated to you Maggie………….

The Rainbow Bridge

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.