What's in a Name?

Most of the time it's easy to name a goat. A name just sticks. But with one little baby, there was no name that stuck. We tried Wonder...didn't work. She was Tapenade for a while because it went with Olive. I tried Piper, Little Bit,and Star but they didn't pop into my head when I saw her. I couldn't remember what I named her.
This little one is a bottle baby because she wasn't getting enough milk. She needed a little help to survive.
So the other night when I was giving her a bottle, I thought of my friend's daughter, Zoey, that is fighting for her life in the ICU. I am thinking about Zoey and her mom a lot. It is anyone that's raising a teenager greatest fear. The call in the night that says your child has been in a terrible accident.
Zoey....It's a perfect name for this spunky little goat that takes after that spunky young woman who is not that big herself. So I named her Zoey.
And bought her an orange collar because orange is the color of the ribbons everyone is tying to their antennae.
Since I wanted to do something but really could do nothing, I did this. I made a poster of Zoey the goat and took it to the hospital one night. We had gone to dinner for my birthday in town and were right by the hospital. Knowing it was too late for visitors, I handed it to the nurse and left with the heaviest heart. I felt terrible for showing up so late and terrible for what my friend was going through.
I thought the poster was a stupid thing to do...not very mature.
But....the next day I heard through the grapevine how much that silly poster meant to her mom. She loved it and got a little bit on enjoyment in the midst of all the chaos. A baby goat gave her a smile.
So now the plan is to sneak little goat Zoey into the hospital when she gets out of ICU. And a gaggle of women want to help me.
One is practicing coughing very goat-like.


Update: I am happy to report that Zoey is out of ICU. She is talking, eating, and joking with her friends. She has a long road ahead but she survives! So if any of you have a spunky, sassy, teenager that always crosses the line and pushes your buttons, give that child an extra hug...they have what it takes to survive.

I see that trip to the hospital in one little goat's future.