Meet the Goats: Cookie

Cookie is a lot of things:

• kind
• gentle

…those words don’t describe her.  She elbows her way to the front of the milking line and then stands up at the barn door, glaring at me until I finally call her name and let her through to the milking room.  Then she hops up on the stand and snorts continuously until I fill her feed bowl and place it in front of her.  She then wolfs down her grain, making piggy noises the entire time.

• patient
• dainty
• methodical

…those words would also not be on the list.  Words that do describe Cookie?

• gorgeous

The Oberhasli in Cookie’s lineage graced her with a sleek, auburn coat that lays down neatly on her hide.  She stands out amidst the sea of white Saanen goats that make up the majority of the Garden Side Dairy herd.

• assertive

Cookie is, without a doubt, the biggest bully in the herd.  She’s quick to let the young does know when they’re out of line… and she’s likely to smack them around before they’ve even gotten out of line just so they remember who they’re dealing with.

• energetic

She’s a dancer.  By that I mean she kicks her hooves around on the stand when I’m trying to milk her.  It’s annoying and entertaining at the same time.  Once I start milking she settles right down and focuses on munching grain, but any time I pause to empty the pail, she starts kicking her heels up again.

Cookie’s a handful.  She wasn’t nicknamed Cookie Monster because she likes baked goods.  But, for some reason, she’s one of my favorite goats.  What can I say?  The gal’s got spunk!