December 2024 | Update 6: We got goats … and here’s why!
Yep, you read it right. We’ve added goats to our little ol’ menagerie! Three of them … Nigerian Dwarfs, who have been recently wethered, poor fellas! Call us crazy, that’s fine … Brittany kinda thinks we are! That said, if you’ve ever wondered how all-in we are with TSC & the foster care community, just come on over to see for yourself … I’ve got some stories to tell!
We named our 3 amigos Waylon, Willie, and Hank! G.O.A.T.s! Get it? Britt was the creative genius behind their names. They are great … a lot of fun and A LOT of work! We are definitely on a steep learning curve.
So, if you & your kids or your neighbors & their kids … especially if there’s a connection to the foster care community … would ever want to come hang out with some adorable goats, please let us know. We’d love for you to come visit. We got them for YOU, for cryin’ out loud!!! It’s going to be an adventure, that’s for sure!
Hank, Willie, Waylon (L to R)
Why Goats?
Well … sure, goats and all the other animals we have are cute and somewhat of a novelty; but there’s more of a method to our apparent madness.
One of the most unfortunate impacts of the trauma that children in foster care have to deal with is the difficulty or an inability to connect - connect with people, connect with places, connect with their emotions, etc. (i.e., attachment issues). And it’s something that potentially haunts them throughout their lives – relationally, emotionally, spiritually, academically, professionally ... you name it. Which is understandable, given that they have been separated from most, if not all, of the people, places, and things from their past.
So, to protect themselves they’ve “learned” to not connect or to not attach to anything. From a neurological perspective, their neuropathways have been stunted or effectively programmed in a dysfunctional way.
Fortunately, our brains, those neuropathways, can heal … can be reprogrammed, so to speak. Studies show that not only is petting a bunny or dog or cat soothing, but that children are more likely to connect with an animal than they are with a human.
ALWAYS ready to eat!
Studies also show that once someone has connected with an animal, they are more likely to connect with a human. And in the case of foster children, that’s initially their foster parents and siblings. These positive attachments while in-care can have a huge impact on their futures. (And by the way, I’m no scientist or farm animal vet, so this is my pedestrian understanding of things!)
So please, not only come meet our fun furry trio, but join us in praying that the foster children who visit will enjoy & connect with them … and maybe help them heal from the trauma they’ve experienced at really no fault of their own.
NOTE | Four Oaks Goats: I just wanted to give a big shout out to Heather & Jason Koltes with Four Oaks Goats at Four Oaks Farm in Statham, GA. When I reached out to inquire about the bucklings they had for sale on eBay … and after I told them what Tire Swing Collective was all about … they offered to donate them to us without our even asking! Isn’t that awesome?!? And they have been so helpful and gracious … answering all my questions about topics I would have never in a million years thought I would have ever cared about! So thanks again, Heather & Jason … we really can’t thank y’all enough!!!
Bottle-feeding Little Willie.
Waylon (and Willie) checking things out.
Hank wanting me to leave him alone!