Hail the Queen

[Nanno]

So a final follow-up to this story is that all of Petunia's tests came back unremarkable. She apparently had some blood clots in the liver but that didn't really tell us much because it's the sort of thing that can happen when a goat is sick and the blood is not circulating properly, so it's more of a symptom than a cause. There were some small lesions on the small intestine that didn't look like Johnes to the pathologist, but she also couldn't 100% rule Johnes out. That really worried me, so last week I collected fecal samples from all my goats over 2 years old and had them tested. The results came back today and they are negative for Johnes. (PHEW!!) I didn't think it could be Johnes, but any time the vet tells you there's a possibility of something like that, it sure preys on your mind! I've been trying very hard not to worry these last few weeks, but there was always that sneaking fear at the back of my mind that would catch me off-guard at odd moments and almost bring me to tears because of what a positive diagnosis might mean for our herd. I'm so relieved! I decided a while back that I'd far rather have Petunia's death remain a mystery than discover she died of something horrible and contagious. As long as I was concerned about Johnes I was almost dreading baby goat season and the prospect of pulling kids at birth, keeping them in a bio-secure area in my basement, and heat treating colostrum and milk until I could rush them off to new homes as quickly as possible. Now we can look forward to the joy of kidding season as usual!