Getting her goat

It’s been almost a year since Lucy the goat came to live with 8-year-old Emma van der Linde. Lucy wasn’t even 24 hours old when she arrived—and she was very sick. But a nearby farmer knew the van der Linde’s “were suckers for any animal in need, so they contacted us,” said Emma’s mother, Erin. The first five days were difficult, and Emma wasn’t sure her goat would make it. But after a week of round-the-clock care, Lucy was able to stand on her own. She lived in the van der Linde’s house for four months, and Emma and her stepsister bottle-fed her and changed her diapers (“You cannot house-train a goat!” Erin said). Lucy traveled everywhere with the family, including a trip to Hilton Head Island. She has also gone to school with Emma, ridden in a golf cart, and swam in the family’s pool (wearing a life jacket, of course). Emma didn’t know much about goats before she met Lucy, but now she realizes “they are the sweetest creatures, full of personality and character.”

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