NEW BETHLEHEM – The Halloween season is a time for ghost stories, but for New Bethlehem and the larger Redbank Valley area, a goat, not ghost, story has spread through the community over the past several weeks.
It started on Wednesday, Oct. 14, when a goat was spotted roaming around downtown New Bethlehem, with police called to Hunter Way where the four-legged animal was spotted behind the Eagles club.
Moments later, an alert came across the 911 scanner that the goat was on the Redbank Valley High School football field.
Despite efforts by the Southern Clarion County Regional Police Department, the goat made a great escape, and was later spotted around Trinity Hall in Alcola before disappearing into the night.
Two days later, and more than eight miles away, the goat made a reappearance at the Eddyville area home of Nancy Stetson.
“When I came home from work at 2 o’clock Friday afternoon [Oct. 16], the goat was looking in my patio door,” Stetson said.
She said that at the time, she did not know about the earlier goat sightings in New Bethlehem, but learned on Oct. 18 that the goat had been spotted in New Bethlehem. Photos indicated that it was the same animal at both locations, despite the distance traveled.
Stetson said she named the goat Pierre.
“He looks French to me because of his goatee,” she said.
Stetson said that while the goat was content to stay on the deck and look through the door at her, anytime she tried to open the door, Pierre took off.
“He sat at my patio door for hours,” she said, adding that she gave Pierre some supplemental food, but that he seemed to be doing fine grazing in her yard.
“He’s helping me by trimming my shrubs and weeds,” she said.
Stetson talked with her neighbors about Pierre, and they reached out to the Humane Society and the Department of Agriculture, where they learned from a tag on Pierre’s ear that he had come from out-of-state, and must have somehow gotten loose. When and where remains a mystery, she said.
“I don’t know what this goat has gone through,” Stetson said last week. “He comes to my house and he’s done traveling.”
After a 10 day visit, Stetson said two representatives from the Humane Society came to her home on Sunday, Oct. 25, to try to relocate Pierre to a farm that takes in such animals. But they didn’t have much luck.
“The poor thing was running around the house,” Stetson said, adding that she told the Humane Society reps that he needed to be tranquilized because he could not be caught. “They chased him away and I’m not happy about that.”
Before he ran off, Stetson said Pierre had found a nice shelter under her deck. Now, she’s hoping Pierre finds a new home before winter weather arrives.
Stetson said she hoped Pierre would find a loving home after what he has been through.
“He must have a purpose,” she said, adding that she’s wishing for a happy ending to this “feel good” story.