Joey

Sponsored by
Lynn Gallagher,
The Hansen Family,
Sarah, Scott, Evan, & Miles

Late one evening in early July 2020, we were contacted by another sanctuary regarding a young goat located in Oklahoma who was in a desperate situation. The initial photos of Joey were so gruesome that we had to include warnings when we shared them on social media. Joey had suffered severe degloving injuries on both of his front legs, and his “guardians”—unwilling to provide him with medical care—planned to end his life with a bullet. 

We knew that we had to get Joey to safety, so we immediately began planning his rescue. Thanks to the compassion of humans all around the country, we were able to put a plan into action. But Joey’s condition was so critical that he couldn’t make the journey to Iowa. Instead, he was welcomed with open arms at Oklahoma State University (OSU) Large Animal Hospital where he was given lifesaving care. 

Joey blew everyone at OSU away with his sweetness, determination, and resilience. He was barely able to stand or walk when he was first rescued, but with a whole lot of TLC, our courageous little Joey was up and walking again much sooner than anyone expected! After a few weeks of intensive daily wound care, Joey’s legs were healed enough for him to receive skin grafts on both of his front legs. 

With his skin grafts successfully healed, Joey was finally ready to make his homecoming journey to Iowa in mid-September 2020. Even though he was a long-distance IFS family member for the first two months that we knew him, we’ve loved him from the moment he came into our lives. We are so thankful that our precious little Joey is finally home. He will never know anything but love, kindness, and safety for the rest of his life. 

Note: degloving injuries are a type of injury in which a large section of skin is fully torn away from the body; we do not know the source of Joey’s injuries, but his veterinarian suspects that it could have been caused by entanglement in barbed wire.