When the stress of schoolwork is a pain, Dr. Daryl Goad brings the cure: tiny goats.
Newman’s Mental Health Advocacy Team hosted “Goats with Goad” on March 27 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The idea was brought up by Mental Health Project Coordinator Ivy Annen, and was intended for students to take a break from their work and enjoy time with goats instead.
A group of over 30 people crowded around the firepit behind Sacred Heart Hall, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the goats. With an overcast sky and rain earlier that morning, bystanders speculated if the event had been cancelled due to the weather. As 11 ticked towards 11:30 a.m., an answer arose with gasps and awes; the goats had arrived, not in a uhaul or truck bed, but in Dr. Goad’s car.
Photo by Andrea Fuentes
“Anybody wanna hold a goat?” Dr. Goad, Assistant Professor of Biology, said.
With four goats total, each one of them came in a harness with their names engraved on dog tags–Rocky Goad, Fern, Storm, and Jim.
Students took turns holding, feeding, and petting the goats, while bystanders “aw”-ed. For the goats and the students alike, it was their first time in this kind of setting.
Ana Zeikidze, senior and tennis player at Newman, eagerly took Fern’s leash, only to be pulled around by him for nearly 10 minutes after the goats’ arrival. “It’s a pretty active goat!” She said in laughter.
Two of the goats were unbothered by being picked up repeatedly, which Goad said was because they were bottle-fed young. The other two, however, moved away and bleated in protest when petted or picked up.
Goad’s love for his goats rang true throughout the event as he asked students what they thought and encouraged everyone to have a chance feeding or holding one.
“Everybody knows I love my goats,” he said. “Goats are full of the joy of life.”
