Goats

Goats are inquisitive and playful animals. They love to learn and explore the unfamiliar, and they are extremely agile. Kids are extremely attached to their mothers, and they don't wean until after six months. In fact, goats that have been separated from their mothers for years will still have strong attachment and affection upon reintroduction. In a mixed herd, goats will organize themselves naturally by breed because they have an intricate social hierarchy. 

In the U.S. alone, 1.5 million goats are slaughtered for meat each year. Most kids are slaughtered when they are just three to five months old. The dairy goat females have it worse off, with a life of prolonged suffering ahead of them. Female goats are artificially inseminated so that they are constantly pregnant and producing milk. Their babies are taken away at birth and all of the mother's milk is kept for human consumption. Since the male kids born into the goat dairy industry are considered useless, they are immediately slaughtered after birth. 

 

 

Bennett

Sir Bennett is a pygmy goat hailing from Colorado, but has been living in Illinois for over a decade. Before he was rescued, he was kept isolated in a dog house in the backyard. Bennett came to Wedrose twelve years ago with his pal Gidget, who has since passed away.

 

Wapi

French Alpine Wapi came to Wedrose with Little Cow, Elvis, and Josephine two years ago, brought by our loving friend Carrie who wanted to find a safe home for the crew. Wapi is a wonderful big brother who looks out for his little sister, Josephine.

 

Josephine

French Alpine Josephine is the little sister of Wapi, brought to the sanctuary by our friend Carrie along with Little Cow, Elvis, and Josephine. Josephine is best friends with Little Cow and Elvis, and loves her big brother Wapi dearly. She has a very curious personality and loves to observe what the other goats are up to from the sidelines.

 

Danny

Chief Danny came to Wedrose four years ago as a kid, and he runs the whole colony! Danny,a Nubian and Lamatcha mix, is a big boy and he knows it. Powerful, stubborn, and an attention-hog, Danny is the clear alpha male of the pack and the other goats know to obey Danny and get out of his way. Danny's main priority is getting all of the petting to himself!

 

Laurie

Our Nubian goat Laurie is just as sweet as her namesake, the human Laurie Roth. Sadly, our friend Laurie is no longer with us, but her legacy of kindness lives on in our resident Laurie. Laurie has bonded deeply with Barton, and the two are a classic pair of loners who are incredibly sweet, but prefer to hang out together, separate from the rest of the goats.

 

Elvis

Elvis is one of the most well-mannered goats we've ever met. This gentleman came to the sanctuary by way of our friend Carrie, along with Josephine, Wapi and Little Cow. This gentleman is best friends with Little Cow, and the two get into many shenanigans together.

 

Beverage

Beverage is a mixed Lamatcha and Nubian goat named for our friends from Bloomington, the Beverage family. Beverage was rescued from slaughter alongside Danny. The two boys were being packed into a meat market truck and were rescued just in the nick of time.

 

Barton

Barton is a French Alpine named after our close friend and animal lover, John Barton. Dr. Barton is highly supportive of the sanctuary, and Barton the goat is very supportive of his best friend, Laurie. He is a loner, but is slowly learning how to socialize more with the larger group of goats. We rescued Barton from slaughter and he had to be bottle-fed by Tobein in his first weeks here. As a result, he is totally Tobein's baby!

 

Hitchen

Beautiful Boer goat Hitchen was rescued three years ago from the dinner table with pals April Mae and Little Ray. Hitchen recently lost his best friend when April Mae passed away, and the other goats are doing their best to console him. Hitchen was named after our dear friend Bill.

 

April Mae - In Memoriam

Our sweetie April May underwent surgery for a bad infection in her ears and had to have her ears removed. Strangely enough, April really came out of her shell after her surgery and bonded more than ever with her goat family. We lost our cheerful darling in July of 2014, and she is sorely missed by everyone at the sanctuary. Thank you to the vets at the University of Illinois for taking such good care of her in her final days.

 

Little Ray

Little Ray is an itty bitty pygmy goat with an enormous amount of courage. Little Ray escaped from a slaughter truck and found his way to rescue. When he came to Wedrose he was incredibly sickly, but we nursed him back to health and now he is one of the big personalities of the goat clan. We named Little Ray after one of our favorite people, Big Ray from Lake Bloomington.

 

Tobi Girl

Tobi Girl arrived at the sanctuary in 2011 with pneumonia. She was extremely sick, but recovered to full health and is now a social butterfly. We can't pick who Tobi Girl's best friend is because she gets along with absolutely everyone! Thank you to our good local friends Terry and Barb for rescuing this beautiful Boer goat and bringing her into our lives.

 

Debbie

Debbie might be Superwoman posing is a goat, or at least that's our hunch. She arrived from the big city of Chicago after having escaped from a slaughterhouse. Debbie was running the streets of Chicago when a good Samaritan Chicago policeman was sent to fetch her and bring her back to the slaughterhouse. Debbie immediately won the policeman's heart, and he couldn't bring himself to return her to the slaughterhouse. Instead, the policeman and his wife brought Debbie down to the sanctuary and she is eternally grateful for their compassion!

 

Ed

Our little buddy Ed arrived at the sanctuary in 2008 with his brother Joe. The county police were set to take custody of the goat brothers when we received a call and we arranged to rescue them. Much to our surprise, they came as a package deal with two potbelly pigs who we named Jeffery P. and Pretty Girl. Ed is a delight to have on the sanctuary, and is usually the first goat to greet visitors.