‘Huckleberry’ the fainting goat is missing and, not only are his owners desperate to find him, his best friend ‘Stella’ the miniature horse, has also been sad since he disappeared overnight July 30.
Rick Luch says they’ve had Huckleberry for almost seven years on their small farm on Sechelt Inlet Road and the goat has never wandered off before.
“We let him out all the time and he'll just hang around a yard and come in the house, he’s just very adorable,” says Luch. “And he never leaves the horse’s side, they’re just best buddies and they never leave each other, so it’s such a mystery.”
Luch says Stella is obviously missing her best friend.
“We've been looking all over for him and the horse is super lonely,” says Luch, who adds his wife Jacqueline and kids Hank, Charlie and Fred are also missing Huckleberry very much. “There’s no sign of the fencing being disturbed and there’s no sign of blood, which is very odd. But, there’s a bear that’s been hanging around the yard for about a week now and he’s just not leaving.”
Luch notes the bear has been hanging around one particular part of their property, so there’s a chance it could have killed the little goat and stashed its body nearby. It’s also possible Huckleberry was taken by a cougar, but until they have proof, the family refuses to give up hope that he could still be alive and was either stolen or did simply wander away.
“But it’s just so odd that a bear would eat a goat, especially when there's other food sources around, there's berries all over the place,” says Luch.
Luch explains the little white and brown goat is the brother of the original ‘Huckleberry,’ which was killed in a freak accident seven years ago when a bear got into the pen, the goat fainted and Stella panicked and accidentally stepped on its neck. That’s when they picked up Huckelberry II from the same farm on Vancouver Island.
Fainting goats have a condition called “myotonia congenita,” which makes their muscles contract when the animal is startled or frightened. So, these goats don’t actually faint, but rather their muscles stiffen to the point they fall over.
The family has posted information about the missing goat on Facebook and also places posters around Sechelt. Luch says his kids are really missing Huckleberry, so if anyone has seen the little goat, please call 604-889-8899.
