Thank God the Tide Was Out For the Bridge Jumping Goat!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

He landed in pluff mud!

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/ ... 03833.html


Bridge-jumping goat makes happy landing at animal shelter
By JIM FABER
jfaber@islandpacket.com
843-706-8137
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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The nanny goat that survived a leap off the Charles E. Fraser Bridge over Broad Creek on Monday was resting comfortably at the Beaufort County Animal Shelter on Tuesday.

"The goat is acting normal today," said Toni Lytton, director of the shelter and county animal control.

No one had come forward to claim the goat as of Tuesday afternoon, Lytton said. The goat was wandering in westbound traffic on the Cross Island Parkway around 1 p.m. Monday. Firefighters tried to corral it, but it leapt 30 to 50 feet off the bridge into pluff mud at low tide.

If the owner doesn't come for the goat, there'll be no problem finding it a home: "We've had several calls about the goat," Lytton said.

The county animal shelter in Beaufort is mainly populated by dogs and cats. Rabbits, gerbils and guinea pigs are the next most populous group, then birds and livestock, Lytton said.

Livestock has to be placed quickly because it tends to take up outdoor space at the shelter that dogs need to exercise. The shelter will hold the goat for at least two more days to give its owner a chance to claim it. Then the adoption process will start.

People keep goats as pets and to produce milk, Lytton said.

The goat was lucky it didn't make the leap at high tide. A fall from that height into water would probably have severely injured the animal, said Dr. Frank Murphy, owner of Aimant Animal Hospital in Beaufort. Murphy tended to the goat during the rescue.

The goat has a well-developed mammary gland, meaning it may have been used for milk, Murphy said.

Murphy wasn't surprised it was a goat that caused a ruckus on the bridge.

"All goats seem to have a knack for getting into places they shouldn't," he said.

But he was surprised the goat leapt off the bridge, which is out of character for the animal.

"If goats have nine lives, she used them all up yesterday," Murphy said.