Victoria woman raises orphaned goat, brings her to work

There’s always something to do when you work on a farm.

"No matter what the day, it’s early hours." Claudia says. "Long days."

Being the manager of the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm means caring for a community of animals that includes a big pig and nine adolescent goats.

But in the off-season, when there are no children visiting, you’ll find one kid working.

"I do have a four-legged helper," Claudia smiles as a young goat bleats at her. "Her name is Rosie, short for Rosemary."

This morning, Rosie is beginning her work day by jumping on an Adirondack chair, requesting a rest.

"This is my chair to have my coffee break," Claudia says. "But Rosie thinks it’s her chair."

What the little goat lacks in work ethic, she makes up for with enthusiasm. When Claudia walks away from the chair to start cleaning one of the pens, Rosie leaps to the ground and chases after her.

"It makes things happier and easier having her by my side," Claudia smiles.

Wherever Claudia goes, Rosie follows. Whatever Claudia does, Rosie watches. And, like co-workers do, throughout the day they carry on conversations.

When Rosie bleats at Claudia, Claudia translates what she thinks the goat is saying and answers back.

They seem to understand each other – which isn’t surprising, they’ve known each other since Rosie was born.

"Rosie lost her real mom, her goat mom, when she was just two days old," Claudia says.

Seeing as there was no hope of Rosie’s survival without a mom, Claudia brought the baby goat home.

After months of bottle-feeding, couch cuddling, and diaper wearing, Rosie started flourishing.

"It transformed me, a bit, into a mom," Claudia smiles.

A mom who comforted Rosie when she struggled to connect with her peers, a mom who encouraged the baby while she learned to act like the other goats, a mom who celebrated her kid when she finally made her first best friend.

"She came into my life and made it more perfect," Claudia smiles, sitting on their chair, petting Rosie on her lap. "It’s the joy of my life at the moment."

Which is why these moments, when mother and daughter turned co-workers finally take their well-earned coffee break, couldn’t be more wonderful.