Nitro (written by William)

We awoke early today to get the feeding and milking done ahead of schedule. A appointment had been made for Nitro at 09:00 in Raleigh at the state veterinary hospital/school. Where Nitro's two oldest sons(here at Hidden Haven)were dehorned last year.
In the past few months,he had been not feeling his best. Peggy had pulled him through what seemed to be a bad cold or possibly pneumonia earlier this year. But in recent months he continued to lose weight and act lethargic. At times he would swing his lower jaw from side to side which made us think that he may have injured it playing with his sons and Leonard.
Traffic was heavy on the way from Fayetteville to Raleigh which made us about 20 minutes late. The receptionist paged the vet(Dr. Foster) as soon as we checked in. He came to the waiting room and started the process to get a history on our concerns. Within a few minutes,we were backed into a unloading dock and encouraging "Nitro" to walk off the back of the pickup. He easily did this and walked to the holding stalls for large animals.
Dr. Foster asked more questions and intermittently examined Nitro. He seemed to be leaning toward thinking that the jaw injury or a impacted tooth was likely the problem.
After a x-ray he said that a tooth or injury was the probable cause of his discomfort. However he said that there was a slight possibility of cancer. We ok'ed some more tests,blood work and extracting a sample from the glands under his jaw.
We left to take care of some paperwork and get bite to eat. Arriving back at the hospital late afternoon we or I was expecting the news that a injury was the problem and with some continued good care all would fine. Peggy had expressed more apprehension about news to come.
Sadly to say this but she was right! Nitro has a aggressive cancer that is incurable (Maxillary lymphosarcoma). The Dr. explained our options of the near future. He could put Nitro down at the present time or we could take him home and have it done in the next few weeks. I'm not sure which would be the better choice but I opted for him coming home and take some medication(steroids) for a short time, and then--------.
Nitro is a champion billy and even in discomfort he continues to be the most gentle,yet massive built goat in this part of the country.
Peggy is being the remarkable lady she always is,while hurting deeply,crying some,she continues to be the Hidden Haven mainstay center.

Come On Now!

You can't have all the sympathy for Diva and Sammi. How would you like to live with one pregnant and one raging hormonal female? Diva doesn't want me around her at all. The looks she gives me since being pregnant almost seems evil! She seems to forget that when she becomes a mom I will be a dad and have responsibilities too. Diva gets the most brushing, the sweetest carrots, the first cookie and most of the attention. Then there is Sammi. Sammi with the raging hormones. Sammi that one minute wants to play and run with me. The next minute is biting and being mean to me for no reason. Its rough being the only male in the pen. Everything is my fault. When Diva is feeling bad its my fault. When Sammi is moody its my fault. Or so they both tell me. I try my best to protect and take care of them. They use to want me to sleep next to them at night so they would feel safe. Now if I try to lay down beside them they bite me! Let me tell you people its hard living with these two does! You never know what kind of mood they will be in and that will change in the blink of an eye. Mom isn't any better. She is in our pen more than she is in her house. I am so tired of being woke up in the middle of the night by her flashlight. And if she spends another night in Diva's stall and wakes me up for snoring I am not going to be responsible for my actions! What is wrong with the females around this homestead? Come on people have some compassion for me and what I am having to deal with!