by James O'Shea ·
Friday, August 23, 2024
On Sunday afternoon, Caleb the goat and his brother, Joey, were being transported by truck to their new home at the Sowa Goat Sanctuary on Old Littleton Road, a nonprofit that rehabilitates and cares for neglected, deformed, and injured goats.
Born in Connecticut, Caleb had been a victim of animal abuse, eventually being removed from these conditions and held on the grounds of a state prison facility. Though he and his brother were later adopted by another family, their new home proved similarly neglectful. “They had never known kindness,” said a sanctuary volunteer, and “were finally ending up in a place where they could live comfortably.” Likely skittish from his past trauma, Caleb leapt from the truck upon arriving at Sowa, bolting down the road and entering the woods north of Old Schoolhouse Road.
Caleb resting at home. (Courtesy photo)
Olivia Dinardo, who runs the Sowa Sanctuary with her husband, immediately sounded the alarm, alerting the Harvard police, posting on social media, and hanging flyers up around town. Their calls for help did not go unheeded, not the least because of a $5,000 reward for the safe return of Caleb.
By Monday afternoon, goat-hunters of all stripes arrived at the sanctuary. Many were Sowa volunteers and friends of Dinardo; others were concerned Harvard residents. Still more came from surrounding towns, all employing unique goat-searching strategies. Some had scent hounds in tow, hoping to pick up the trail. Others piloted drones, flying over open land where Caleb might be grazing. Two young children walked down the street with their parents, yelling “Heeeere goat!” in an attempt to attract the wary animal.
Hiking through the woods between Littleton County and Old Littleton roads, Spencer Holland listened carefully for the sounds of a goat moving through the underbrush. Decked out in rain boots and waders, he carried a garden rake “to help get through the swamps.” “It’s not about the money,” said Holland, who lives down the road. “I’m just trying to help Olivia.”
Nina and Simon Iverson, both Bromfield students, cruised the roads on bikes. “We brought a rope and a bell,” said Simon. “And some carrots too,” Nina added.
On the forest edge, a rustling in the woods halted a search party, eager to glimpse Caleb emerging from the trees. Instead, out walked a small band of Jamaican workers from the nearby orchards, ropes coiled around their shoulders. “Goat?” one shouted from up the hill. “Not yet” someone responded.
On Tuesday morning, Dinardo and Sowa volunteers were gathered around the goat barn. Two pygmy goats, each in specialized wheelchairs, followed her lovingly around the driveway. Trying to complete the usual farm chores and resume the search, Dinardo was beset by nonstop phone calls from unknown numbers. A woman asking if Caleb had been found. A man inquiring if his dogs might be of any use. One caller was a prominent member of Harvard University’s Animal Law Clinic, offering to come aid in the search efforts and maybe bring some students along with her.
“We’re just so grateful for the outpouring of support,” said Dinardo, remarking how touching it has been to see so many people turn out for Caleb. “It really restores your faith in humanity,” added a friend.
More than 48 hours after Caleb’s escape, Dinardo received a call from Matti Beard of Old Littleton Road. After finding a “Missing Caleb” flyer in their mailbox, Beard and her two young children, Joey and Susie, decided to go “on a goat hunt.” Upon noticing some suspicious droppings in the garage, they investigated further. “We found him over here,” said Joey, leading the way to a shed behind the family’s garage. “And there was Caleb,” Susie recounted excitedly. “We found the goat behind our tractor!”
Once Caleb was successfully loaded into the back of a sanctuary volunteer’s car, he was very carefully led out and into his pen to rejoin his brother. When asked what she would do with the reward money, Beard said, “It’s not a matter of a reward; it’s that an animal got home safely.” “[They] don’t have to pay us anything,” she added.
Welcome to Harvard, Caleb!