God Loves His Critters...He's in Their Story, Too!

God loves all His creations - including His animals. He will be a voice of warning when they are in trouble, also.

Kim Anderson on her Hilltop Heaven Farm with Claire and her baby, Little Tuff

I had goats due to kid. My Nigerian doe, Claire, wasn't even on my radar. She had zero signs so I wasn't worried. I had two kids out and watching the third. I went back to the barn to check on the new mom, wading through the slop and the mud. All good. As I went out the gate, I heard in my mind..."count your goats." I looked around and thought all good, so I turned to leave as my third goat was in labor. Another distinct impression..."where is Claire?" My smart aleck self said that she was most likely napping in the barn, so I turned to latch the gate. The third warning was strong...."go get her!"

I walked back through the mud and the slop to find her in extreme distress. That is when she cried out for me. She was trying to deliver a baby, and it was impossible to get out. Five more minutes, and Claire would have died. She is my favorite doe. I quickly, and with prayer, got the baby out, which was extremely stressful because Claire lay dying. I immediately made the decision which one to save.

I gathered the baby and ran inside and called Rain (the dog) to lick the baby to get him to breathe. I laid him near the heater and ran back to the barn. Claire was standing, but she was extremely weak. I managed, with prayer, to get her to the front barn. She had very little milk and wanted nothing to do with her baby. I made plans to take him to a family in Kirtland to bottle raise him even though I didn't feel good about that. I kept him with me for 24 hours to bottle feed him. The next night I put him with mom. She had a little milk but didn't want to nurse him. I was told by experienced goat people that she would never take him back. The next morning, I got up to bottle him and she was nursing him!!! A true miracle had occurred on my Hilltop Heaven Farm. God does care for his critters and is in their story, too.

Submitted by Kim Anderson from Cortez, CO March 2021