An Excellent Adventure

It seems every day on social media there are posts by people who are looking for their lost dog or cat. Other posts feature pets that have been found by someone trying to locate the owner. One time I saw an ad for someone who was looking for their pet chicken; with that, I thought I had seen it all, but eventually, someone had to top it. Brother Dan and my sister-in-law would do just that.
Several months ago, I needed to call D.P. Plumbing for business purposes. When Petrina came to the phone she asked me, “Hey, do you happen to know of anyone who lost their goats?” She caught me off guard, so I asked her to repeat the question. “Do you know anyone who is missing their goats? We have a couple of goats hanging out at the shop.”
To clarify, I asked, “Are you saying goats; g-o-a-t, or ghosts; g-h-o-s-t? Because if you’re seeing either of them hanging out at the shop, I know the name of a doctor who might be able to help you.” Petrina confirmed they were goats, and they’d been seeing them on and off at the shop for several weeks. I was trying to help her with her dilemma. “Are you sure it isn’t Alex, or the other plumbers in goat costumes playing a prank on you?” Petrina assured me they were real live goats.
Although she sounded sincere, I was skeptical; could Petrina be pulling a prank on me. We shared a good laugh over the whole situation. Then Pertina said, “Getting back to business, what did you need?” At this point I honestly forgot why I called and told her I would call again when I remembered.
I hung up the phone thinking, “Goats, yeah right. Like I’m going to fall for that.”  
About a week later, I was at the shop with my brother Dan when I saw an animal dart around the back corner of the building. “What the heck was that?” I asked. Danny didn’t see it and so I explained, “It looked like a big gray dog, but it didn’t run like a dog.”
“It was probably Bill and Ted,” my brother replied.
“Bill and Ted? There was only one and it wasn’t a person,” I said, as we walked around the building to investigate. Grazing in the lush green grass behind the building were two goats. They saw us and both stood skittishly vigilant, ready to flee if necessary.  
“Yeah, that’s Bill and Ted,” Danny said.
“Bill and Ted? You’ve named them? I thought Petrina was just pulling my leg.”
Danny explained, “They’ve been around for a couple of weeks, coming and going as they please. We call them Bill and Ted, like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures.” I have not seen the movie but took his word for it. Over the next few months, I would occasionally see Bill and Ted when visiting the shop.
Last week, I was working on projects with Dan. Since we would need his pickup, I left my van at the shop and drove the truck. My dog, Nova Mae, was with me when I dropped some debris off at the dumpster. She was very anxious, jumping around the cab of the truck. “What is that, Dad? What is that?”
I hadn’t noticed them when I pulled into the parking lot, but the goats were standing at the front door; one on each side as if on posted guard duty. I laughed. “Oh, that’s Bill and Ted, they work in the D.P. Plumbing Security Department.”
“Let me go get them,” Nova said enthusiastically. She is a border collie, blue heeler mix and that’s what both breeds do – herd animals.
Nova desperately wanted out of the truck to go round them up.  “And you will be staying put in the truck,” I said. She was quite disappointed.
After emptying the truck, I ran a few more errands and then returned to the shop to exchange the truck for my van. Bill and Ted were gone by this time. Still, Nova jumped over my lap and out the open door.
She ran to the front door where she saw the goats, then continued around the corner. She ran four full laps around the building looking for those goats. Then she ran back and forth from the building to the far back end of the grassy field. She ran around and through the trees looking for Bill and Ted. “They’re not here, Nova,” I told her. “They must have gone home for the night.” It was fascinating watching her running so fast; cutting and turning in the field, but I was tired and wanted to go get cleaned up for dinner.  “Come on, Nova,” I hollered. She did another lap around the lot before returning to the van.
Nova Jumped in the van and went right to her water bowl. She was thirsty after a good hard run and took a log drink before jumping into the front seat. “Dad, I could have rounded them up for you if you would have let me out the first time.”
“I’m sure you would have,” I said while rolling the passenger window down halfway. Nova pushed her head out the window and continued to scan the property looking for Bill and Ted. I wondered what she would have done if I had let her out when the goats were present.
Nova has not been trained to herd; it’s instinctive for her breed. On the other hand, Bill and Ted may not be accustomed to being herded; head-butting a threatening animal with their horns would be a natural defensive reaction for the goats. At the same time, borders and heelers are both natural masters at avoiding head-butts and kicking hooves from livestock.
It would have been interesting to see. I think they all would have been fine, but I wouldn’t want to see my dog get hurt or have her hurt the goats. “I would have shown you I could do it, Dad, if you would have let me out of the truck,” Nova complained.
“Maybe next time,” I said to Nova. “Maybe I’ll let you out and you and Bill and Ted can have an Excellent Adventure.” Nova looked at me oddly as if she had no idea what that meant. “Never mind, Nova. It might make more sense after we watch the movie.”