This is a baby goat (named “Vanilla”) born about two weeks ago, born lame in both front legs, on the farm of a friend of ours. If our friend hadn’t checked on the progress of mama goat’s labor at about 3 AM, Vanilla might not have made it through the night, being unable to get right up and walk and nurse within minutes of her birth, like her sibling.

Our friend has now rigged her up with splints, hinged at the knee. It is too soon to tell whether she will grow out of her infirmity, so her fate is quite uncertain.

In the meantime, as you can see from the short video below, she has the spunk and energy and the the soaring ambition of the healthiest of goats: much to our surprise, she tried hopping as we were taking this video!