Spotamus (Spot, for short) is a 12-year-old, male British Alpine Goat. Pet owner Veronica Cortes says, “Spot is great, he does everything… He goes up, he goes down, he goes forward, and he goes backward—and for livestock, that’s exactly what we need!”
Cortes runs the Valley Amigos nonprofit organization, which is a horseback riding, farming club, ranch, and mobile petting zoo in Sun Valley, NV.
Spot has never bitten or kicked anyone, and never intentionally hurt anyone with his horns. He can be led by a leash and a collar, which is nice. Cortes explains that they have taken Spot to old folks’ homes, schools, and many events around the region. “He’s just a really good example of an Alpine goat,” beams Cortes, petting Spot.
Cortes chuckles when recalling that she once thought Spot would be a good candidate for weed removal services. So, they sent him to a friend’s yard, but he tried to come inside the house instead of working. He stood right at the sliding glass door, looking inside.
“Spot’s a good boy, but he would rather be inside the house,” says Cortes. “He just didn’t understand why they wouldn’t let him in. But when Spot started ramming the sliding glass door, it was time to go.”
Spot normally dines on alfalfa hay, cracked corn, and occasionally oats. He is very food and snack motivated, so if he’s not doing something that Cortes wants him to do, she just feeds him and it gets done.
Speaking of food, goats are vegetarian by nature, but they’ll actually put anything in their mouth. They have three stomachs, and they’ll just regurgitate something back up if it has no nutritional value.
Fun Fact: Goats (and sheep) have eyes with a rectangular pupil. That’s because they are grazing animals, so they need panoramic pupils so they can see all around them effectively, for safety. Humans have focused vision and then unfocused peripheral vision, but in goats and sheep, their peripheral vision is their primary, focused view.
So, they can be in a grazing position with their head down and yet see all the way up to the sides. They’ll graze in a group tail-to-tail and side to side. That way, the herd has complete 360° vision all the way around, like a panoramic view. They can see predators coming from any angle. Their eyes are truly remarkable.
For additional photos of Spot and other ranch animals, check out the Valley Amigos Facebook Page.
Congratulations to Spotamus for being Sun Valley Insider’s Pet of the Week! 🐐
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