Bronzo & The Dogcatcher

When a hungry goat strays a little too far from home, chaos ensues!

- Irene Bastian, Okotoks, Alta

As the horses whinnied for their morning oats, gophers popped their heads out of their homes to see what the day was like. A rooster’s crow greeted the sunrise, but the busy sounds of an active city drowned out his wake-up call. The city had expanded to the edge of the little farm—only a paved street separated them.

Every morning at 7 a.m., Mrs. Stewart brought her Toggenburg goat, Bronzo, out of the barn after milking and tied her near a grassy spot. Sometimes, Bronzo was tethered close to the edge of the farm, where she watched children going to school, and the postman delivering mail up and down the walks of each of the houses across the street.

This day, as Bronzo was busily munching her morning meal of fresh grass, she spotted some wild daisies just beyond the reach of her tether rope. Oh, they looked so good! She just knew they would be tasty! She pulled on the rope as hard as she could and stretched her neck as far as possible. Not quite! She braced her feet and pulled harder. She seemed to get a little closer. Bronzo backed up and took a run toward the daisies. Suddenly, she scooted right past them. What had happened? She turned to look and saw that her tether pin had pulled loose and was bouncing along at the end of her rope with each step she took. She was free! It was time to go exploring.