Reba: Our Special Needs House Goat – An Exceptional Story

From “Sell Reba” to “Our Beloved Pet”

We would have never thought that this little goat would change our lives so much.

Important Note: While we’re sharing Reba’s story, we want to be clear that we do NOT encourage keeping goats inside your home. Reba is a special needs case with unique circumstances that make indoor living appropriate for her. Goats are typically happiest and healthiest living outdoors with proper shelter, space to roam, and the company of other goats.

When Reba first joined our herd, she faced more than her fair share of challenges. As a baby, she battled constant illnesses—persistent allergies and what seemed like a never-ending cold. But her biggest obstacle was her high-degree fainting condition, which is far more serious than people might imagine.

This isn’t just the typical “fainting goat” behavior that some find amusing in videos. Reba’s condition is genuinely life-threatening. She freezes up when burping up cud, which causes her to start choking—sometimes so severely that we have to intervene to help her breathe again. Her diet requires special accommodation too; she can only eat soft hay with no hard stems, or she risks choking.

These medical challenges unfortunately placed her at the bottom of the pecking order in the goat world. She wasn’t just occasionally picked on—she became the primary target for the entire herd due to her fainting spells and vulnerability.

Watching her struggle was heartbreaking. For her own safety and wellbeing, we reluctantly made the difficult decision to find her a new home. Yes, SELL REBA! It seemed like the kindest option at the time.

The Day That Changed Everything

We started her on antibiotics and cold medication, and a few weeks later, she was doing much better. The morning finally arrived when she was scheduled to leave for her new home. I went out for one last check, and to my dismay, found her sick again—coughing, choking, with greenish discharge from her nose.

We couldn’t in good conscience sell a sick goat to anyone. In what turned out to be the best decision we ever made, we brought her into our house to nurse her back to health once more.

A One-of-a-Kind House Goat

Reba’s transition to indoor living was tentative at first. She was startled by everything in the house—snorting at our dogs and even stomping her front hooves at them and the broom! But remarkably, this skittish behavior only lasted a day or so.

We quickly noticed something unusual for a goat: Reba wouldn’t jump on furniture or chew on household items. She was, surprisingly, the perfect house guest. After just one day, she even potty-trained herself to use the puppy pads we had set out for her.

Her exceptional behavior and serious health needs are what make her suitable for indoor living—traits that most goats simply don’t possess. Living indoors isn’t just a preference for Reba; it’s a medical necessity. Her severe fainting condition requires constant monitoring, as she can choke during normal goat functions like burping up cud. Inside, we can quickly intervene when these dangerous episodes occur—something that wouldn’t be possible if she lived full-time in the barn with the other goats.

Additionally, we maintain strict control over her diet, ensuring she only gets the soft hay without hard stems that she requires to prevent choking. She truly is one of a kind, both in her special needs and in how perfectly she’s adapted to house living.

Reba Today: Queen of the House

Fast forward almost 4 years, and Reba has proven herself to be truly unique. She rules our home with a gentle hoof (though what Reba wants, Reba definitely gets!). She enjoys occasional visits with her friends in the barn but always lets us know when she’s had enough of those “wild savage barn goats” and wants to return to the comforts of her house—usually after an hour outside.

Reba has free reign of our home and, remarkably, stays out of trouble. We simply cannot imagine life without her anymore. She’s the only goat—or friend, really—that we’re genuinely grateful became sick on the very day she was supposed to be sold.

Sometimes the most unexpected circumstances lead to the greatest joys in life. For us, that joy is our perfect little house goat, Reba—a special needs animal who found her perfect place in our home.

Shawn Sweeney

Follow our journey at Happy Little Hooves Farm as we continue our mission to preserve critically endangered Arapawa goats and provide loving care to special needs animals. Each day brings new adventures, challenges, and joy in working with these remarkable creatures.