04 September, 2012

Annie-maw

I'm a little down today. We had to cull our goat Annie. We got home from church Sun. & she was laying against the fence on her back. We thought she had died but she was unable to get up. We put straps under her & helped her to walk to the back shed. She was soaked & shivering. She stood until she was dry & ate all of the hay we gave her.

Yesterday she was laying down & ate all of the hay in front of her but we had to give her water in a butter tub. She'd drink 5 of those at a time but less as the day went on. My brother in law said oregeno oil would help but it was maybe too much too late. She couldn't even lift her head up this morning & though we gave her water she wouldn't drink it, just maw'd softly. We took her out back in the wheelbarrow where the other goats couldn't see & helped her out of this life.

I was reading Job 12 & caught hold of the childish hope that animals really do have souls; "9...the hand of the Lord had made these? 10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, & the breath of all mankind."

But we can't be content to stay as children if we are in the faith. Soul in this sense according to Gill merely means life.

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place;all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Ecc 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?




So she is downward to the earth & it is a comfort to know for sure & not wonder. We are thankful for the wisdom & experiences we gained from her & hope we can use them to some other creature's benefit.

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