In August 2007, the Brooklyn branch of Animal Care and Control contacted Woodstock Sanctuary about a young goat found wandering in Prospect Park. These calls are surprisingly common – there are over 100 live-kill markets (aka slaughterhouses) in the NYC area, and with that are frequent unclaimed escapees. We managed to pick up the little white goat and transport him to our Sanctuary, along with four chickens and two ducks that day.

We named the little guy Albie, after the compassionate philosopher and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer.

As soon as he arrived we knew Albie needed special attention. He was underweight, malnourished, and infected with the worst case of Orf, a condition in which lesions cover the mouth and nose, making it painful to eat. On top of it all, his left leg and hoof were infected and sensitive to the touch. Before escaping, we believe he was hogtied – his legs tied tightly together – which is a routine way of transporting young goats intended for meat. The lack of circulation caused a large portion of his hoof to come off, exposing soft tissue that was very painful to walk on.

Albie’s mouth sores quickly healed; however, his hoof problem was so severe it was beyond our expertise. We took him to the vet several times and treated him with daily wraps and antibiotics. But after weeks of treatment it was clear his leg was not getting better. More drastic measures were necessary. In September, Albie made the trip to the vet hospital where he had part of his outer leg and hoof amputated.

Albie’s initial surgery did not take well. The residual bones were just too fragile to support his weight. Unfortunately, by December, it was clear his entire leg needed to be amputated. It was a tough decision and hearts were heavy when Albie made another trip to the vet hospital in January, where his left leg was amputated just above the knee.

We worked with a prosthetist to try and make Albie an artificial leg shortly after the surgery, but that ended up not working out as Albie would often wiggle out of his prosthetic. We then attempted a wheelchair, but that too wasn’t working for Albie. It was clear Albie was fine on his own, and years later, he’s doing great.

Albie is the king of the goat herd and is as regal and handsome as ever.