Behind the Scenes in Amarillo; Goats, Cops, and Small-Town Life

There is nothing in the world that screams "small town" like the local authorities taking to social media because someone has let their livestock get loose. In the small town I grew up in, it was always someone's guard llama getting out, and the local PD got on Facebook looking for owners. In Amarillo, a group of goats has recently reminded us just how small this Texas town still is.

What Makes A City Of Over 200,000 A Small Town? Goats On The Lam.

It's a phenomenon that exists primarily in small rural towns across this great country. Livestock makes a big break for it, and local law enforcement takes to social media to find the owners. I've seen llamas, pigs, the occasional horse, and cattle. This recent turn of events is something I don't think I've seen nearly as often.

On two very recent occasions, goats have been featured on the Potter County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. In the most recent case, it was just three or four. In the one before that, there were about 20 goats on the loose. These goats flew the coop and decided to find those mythical greener pastures everyone keeps talking about.

Fortunately, the owners were found and the goats got home.

Maybe Check Your Fence, Pens, or Whatever Once In A While

As funny and eye-roll-inducing as this type of thing can be, it can also be dangerous if these animals get out into traffic. I'm not out to point fingers. Animals have minds of their own, and those minds aren't always set on doing whatever we people want them to be set on.

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If you have livestock, check enclosures once in a while to make sure your animals can't get out and cause some trouble. You probably don't need some jerk with a keyboard to remind you, but based off of these two recent instances maybe we should put it out there. The last thing you want is for someone to steal or run over your goat, the last thing any of us want is for our property to suffer damage because of your goat. It's a win-win if you check.

Also, this is simply proof that Amarillo, Texas is exactly what it claims to be. Just a big small town in the Texas panhandle. We've even got the roaming goats on social media to prove it.