Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411210086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER STEWARTSVILLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Marilyn Kelley has just one request for hunters who will be tromping around the Bedford County woods: Don't get her goat.
As in her pet goat Sweetie, the one with the tawny coat and the stubby horns and the penchant for running loose across her 100 acres of forest land.
The one that looks so much like a deer she's been dubbed a "near-deer."
The one that likes to sleep in the driveway, where she causes road-hunters to slow to a crawl while they evaluate their prospects.
Kelley's tried fencing Sweetie in, "but she's an escape artist."
Sweetie, it seems, is a goat on the go.
"All the neighbors - five live right around here - she goes to their houses and they all love her," Kelley said. "Except for Tom. She gets up on his deck."
Neighbor Tom should consider himself lucky.
"She gets up in my car and wants to ride everywhere," Kelley said. "There's mud all over the inside. She gets up in the seat like a human."
Just what kind of goat is this, exactly?
Kelley doesn't have a clue. "She's a people goat," is the best Kelley can discern. "I can't leave the door open; she'll come right in the house."
That's fine with Kelley, though. A counselor at a Roanoke Valley mental health agency, she has had a thing for animals for years.
"I've had raccoons, peacocks, every kind of animal known to man down here. But I think goats are my favorite."
She acquired Sweetie about eight months ago. "Oh, I love goats. They're neat pets. She's like a dog."
But Sweetie looks too much like a deer for Kelley's comfort.
So Kelley went on a shopping spree to Wal-Mart. She found a blaze-orange knit cap that, when modified with two holes, fits snugly over Sweetie's horns. And she stocked up on plastic blaze-orange vests.
"We bought four or five of 'em to last the season."
What does Sweetie think of her new attire?
Loves it, Kelley insisted.
Well, Sweetie doesn't object. That might be a more accurate appraisal.
"She's lost her hat a few times," Kelley said.
If that's all Sweetie loses this hunting season, Kelley will be satisfied.
by CNB