Making a Come-baa-ck: Rescued Erie County Goats Find Their Herd
Just one week before Thanksgiving 2025, our team of experts were on the ground rescuing hundreds of farm animals from a property in Southern Erie County.
“Some of them tested positive for Johnes (a contagious, fatal disease caused by a bacteria that can cause severe nutrient malabsorption) and Capring Arthritis Encephalitis (otherwise known as CAE, a lifelong viral infection that can cause arthritis, pneumonia or chronic mastitis). Many were also underweight and had overgrown hooves that still require consistent care due to their previous neglect,” said Allison Hungerford, director of communications at Susquehanna SPCA. “In fact, quite a few also had hoof rot that caused them to be lame or painful.”
In collaboration with SPCA Serving Erie County, we provided critical support, including medical care to the animals.
Once the animals were approved to be relocated, many went to placement partners, including ASPCA partner shelter Susquehanna SPCA.
Susquehanna SPCA took in 16 goats, including four sweet girls named Cami, Mari, Jenni and Marge. At the time, both Jenni and Marge were pregnant.
At Susquehanna SPCA, all four goats received the care they needed and then began their search for a kind and loving home.
Growing the Family
Shelly C. owns a small horse farm and lesson trail riding program for children and adults, so goats are a staple on her farm to help with pasture and weed management — and she and her grandkids absolutely adore them! On her farm, she had seven Quarter horses, two mini ponies, five goats, two dogs and a cat. She has also occasionally taken in horses and ponies to work with, train and place in new homes.
Despite already having five goats, Shelly loves how helpful they are to the land, thinks they’re fun to watch and enjoys the silly noises they make, so when she heard that Susquehanna SPCA had goats for adoption, her interests were piqued.
After seeing their adorable faces, Shelly decided she would adopt Mari and Cami. Marge and Jenni also caught Shelly’s attention, but it wasn’t until she found out they had babies on the way that she made a spur of the moment decision to adopt them as well.
“My grandchildren LOVE the babies! Plus, they’re great pets,” said Shelly.
So, Shelly loaded up her four new goats and brought them home to her farm, bringing her total goat count to nine.
But that number grew just a few weeks later when both Marge and Jenni gave birth.
“Marge had two healthy twins that are thriving, both doeling (female),” Shelly told us. “Their names are Monkey and Ren, named by my grandchildren Lane and Lauren. Jenni also had twins but sadly one of them passed away. The other is doing great, also a doeling. Her name is Snow.”
These three new kids brought Shelly’s goat count to 12, and a grand total of 24 animals on her farm.
Finding Their Place
In their new home, all seven goats acclimated quickly and are finding their place on the farm. Mari and Cami are a bonded pair, with Mari being the more outgoing of the two.
“But Cami is making progress!” Shelly said. “I have another two boar/Nubian cross goats that are super friendly and they have become close friends.”
Marge, Jenni and their babies are living in a separate pasture on the property, but once the babies are a little older, they will join the others. In the meantime, they’re getting plenty of attention from Shelly’s grandchildren.
During the day, the goats are in a mixed pasture with the horses but have a large stall they go into at night with free access all 24 hours of the day. They all cuddle up together at night in their stall — which is exactly as cute as it sounds!
Since adopting Mari, Cami, Jenni and Marge, and welcoming Monkey, Ren and Snow to the world and her farm, Shelly and her grandchildren’s lives have been touched by so much joy. They wouldn’t change a thing about all their wonderful animals!
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