A Cry for Help on the Shoulder
The tiny brown kid pressed its muzzle against the trapped adult goat’s cheek amid loose red scree. Only the older animal’s curved horns and neck protruded from the collapsed dirt embankment bordering the asphalt road.
The young kid took two quick steps, turned, and scampered along the shoulder past the guardrail. Ahead, yellow excavators sat idling beside orange traffic cones where a highway maintenance crew stood on duty.
A worker wearing a white hard hat and leather work gloves knelt beside the road. The kid trotted directly up to her work boots, lifting its nose to sniff her trouser cuff.
Uncovering the Buried Animal
The crew followed the youngster back down the pavement to the rockslide. Three workers in reflective vests dropped to their knees in the red dirt alongside their coworker.
Gloved hands clawed away loose shale, scooping mounds of crushed stone away from the adult goat’s shoulders. The kid stood inches from the buried goat’s horns, sniffing its jaw as the dirt cleared.
The workers scraped away the heavier rocks around the torso, exposing the front legs and back. The animal remained still, blinking dust from its eyes as the crew widened the trench around its ribcage.
Two crew members unfurled a heavy canvas sling across the scree. Working together, they slid the fabric beneath the animal’s flank and hoisted the adult goat upward onto level ground.
Into the Clinic and Onto the Grass
Inside an examination room, a veterinarian in green scrubs placed a stethoscope against the goat’s ribcage. The road worker stood at the exam table, resting her palm gently on the animal’s neck while the kid looked up from the linoleum.
The stethoscope moved across the goat’s flank as the veterinarian felt along the joints for fractures or swelling. The goat stood steady on the cushioned metal examination table, ears relaxed.
Outside the clinic barn, green pasture sloped toward autumn trees and distant cliffs. The worker crouched in the clover, stroking the kid’s brown back while the mother goat lowered her head to nuzzle her offspring’s ears.
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