Atho of the Belmont Goats: Surgery and Recovery

Our beloved Belmont Goats are a treasure of St. Johns and now one of them needs your help. 7 year-old Atho became very sick, very quickly this week. He had to be rushed down to OSU and underwent surgery to remove a urinary blockage that included 15 large and 100's of tiny kidney stones - A situation we are all too familiar with since Cooper's first blockage in 2017. 
Atho underwent a relatively non-invasive surgery to remove the stones and give his body time to rest and heal.  So far he is doing well and we are optimistic that he will be able to return home soon.

Atho and his sister Winter are the youngest goats of the herd.  Atho was born to Duchess, our herd queen on the Winter Solstice of 2013.  He is a very sweet boy that we refer to as "Puppy" and he loves to show off his beautiful bright white teeth!

The surgery and aftercare have been very expensive and will continue.  The estimate we were given by OSU was $4000-$6000. 
Due to the pandemic, The Belmont Goats' gate hours had to be suspended for a long time and that resulted in the loss of of the majority of our donations.  We've tried to be modest in our requests for help during COVID because we know that resources are low, but we are completely volunteer run and public donations has been our only source of maintenance thus far. 

Please consider helping Atho and the 13 other Belmont Goats in their time of need.  Any donations beyond the cost of Atho's surgery and recovery will be used to facilitate the ongoing care and upkeep of the goats including food (they eat A LOT), medical care, supplies, barn repairs (because they love to prove and show off how strong they are)  etc. Our first order of business would be to schedule a herd wellness visit with our vet (We had planned to schedule it in early September).  Every dollar helps, and no donation is too small! 

We will also be restarting Gate Hours on August 21st to not only help raise funds, but to re-engage with the folks who love us and bring some joy back to the community.  We've done the best we can to stay connected via social media, but its time to get back to petting!  We are also planning more interactive ways to help maintain funds in the long run including new and regular merch offers and we're in talks to start a Patreon! 

More information about The Belmont Goats: The Belmont Goats provides urban public access to domestic goats within Portland, Oregon, and/or its surroundings. This experience also may be provided to specific communities deemed to benefit from such access. The Belmont Goats is "Portland's nonprofit resident herd", offering an oasis of rural community amidst the built urban environment.