What has four legs, is house-trained, and travels in a pack? If you guessed a dog, you would be right…normally.
But things are slightly different in Beaver Lake Cree Nation, about 170 kilometres north of Edmonton.
Driving through the area, you might be surprised when you spot Bruce the goat out for a stroll with his family pack of dogs.
That’s precisely what Mark Gladue, a community water treatment operator, spotted earlier this week. Eager to capture a photo of the unlikely posse, Gladue bleated like a goat to catch the packs’ attention. Whatever he said, it caused Bruce and his friends to stop dead in their tracks and stare.
“I stopped, and I looked. I’m like, that’s a goat with a bunch of freaking Rez dogs,” Gladue told CBC News.
Gladue, who is Cree and Navajo, took the opportunity to snap a photo of Bruce with the Rez dogs.
Since it was posted online, the photo has spread across social media platforms like wildfire. People have commented from all over Canada, and the picture was even shared as far as Arizona in the United States.
But who is Bruce?
Bruce, the goat, belongs to nine-year-old Louise May Lewis, better known as Baby May by her family.
May’s pet preferences are a bit outside the norm. For her birthday, she asked for a pet deer. Her parents didn’t think that was possible, so they settled for a goat!
When Bruce arrived, he was still in diapers and bottle-fed.
Bruce fit right into the busy household of five children, three dogs, and two birds.
Having a goat/dog wannabe has its issues. For example, Bruce’s horns were an issue. According to May’s mom, April Mountain, the family put rubber grips on his horns to stop him from damaging the house.
Having grown up around dogs, Bruce naturally thinks he’s a dog, too.
But Bruce is still as stubborn as a goat and refuses to eat goat food.
Thankfully, goats will eat almost anything, including human foods like fruits, vegetables, and crackers. What’s most important is that a goat is getting all the nutrients it needs, and with such a varied diet, Bruce is doing great.
Bruce’s human neighbours are still getting used to seeing a goat out running with Rez dogs. According to Gerald Whitford, the band’s chief administrative officer, band members are used to seeing horses or cows in the area, not goats.
April Mountain often receives calls from neighbours worried about Bruce hanging around Rez dogs.
While dogs and goats would not usually get along, Bruce is accepted as one of the pack.
Concerns are to be expected, but Mountain knows Bruce is having the time of his life exploring Beaver Lake Cree Nation with his canine cousins.
When it’s time to come home, April hops in her car with a smile and picks up the adventurous goat, ready to have a tasty dinner.
Perhaps the only thing weirder than a horned Rez dog is Bruce getting chauffeured home in April’s car.
