We knew that Minto-kun wouldn't live long, but we didn't think he would die this soon. I don't know what to say. I will just explain what happened - it's explanation for our friends and customers who came to the farm and knew Minto-kun and liked him. Everyone who knew Minto-kun, liked him. He was such a charming character.
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| Minto-kun. Died on October 30, 2016. |
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| Minto-kun and Akio-kun, always side by side. |
A few days after Akio-kun died, Minto-kun suddenly fell ill too. One morning we found him lying on the ground, unable to stand up. It was a nightmarish dejavu just a few days after we found Akio-kun like that.
We took Minto-kun to the doctor where he received emergency treatment which saved his life that day. But after what seemed like a slight recovery, he got weak again. He was unable to stand but he still had appetite. We kept him warm and comfortable, with plenty of his favorite treats, but he was getting weaker. On Sunday afternoon he died. It was exactly one week after Akio-kun.
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| Minto-kun strolling around Akio-kun's grave. Still healthy. |
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| Minto-kun a few hours after the emergency visit to the doctor, eating his favorite persimmon :) |
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| Minto-kun's last picture standing on his own (and in a very pretty garden.) |
This will sound like a terrible cliche but it really seemed as if Minto-kun was so lonely after Akio-kun's death that he chose to join him rather than stay with us.
I know there must be a more scientific explanation, and I wish I had it. But we don't really know why Minto-kun suddenly got sick. For the three months that Minto-kun spent on our farm, he appeared to be healthy - steadily recovering from the malnutrition he suffered in his previous place. It's true that we never saw him running, but we thought that he was simply a goat that doesn't run. In fact it might have indicated irregular heart function. We also never saw him doing the 'second chewing' (chewing cud - ruminants put once eaten food from their stomach back to mouth where they chew it over, then finally digest), but we didn't pay much attention to it either. 'Maybe he's second chewing when we're not watching,' we thought naively. It was probably a sign of a serious digestive problem.
We didn't pay attention to these signs because overall Minto-kun seemed to be doing great - he was eating well, his eyes sparked when he saw his favorite treat, he would walk far away in pursuit of his favorite grass, he was lively and curious like a healthy goat should be.
In the hindsight I can see that Minto-kun's health was more fragile than we had realized. It was based on many improperly working internal systems that could fail at the slightest disturbance.
Our hypothesis - which cannot be confirmed - is that Minto-kun might have caught some minor virus or bacteria, probably from Akio-kun, that would have been harmless to a healthy goat (none of the other three goats on the farm fell ill), but it was fatal to Minto-kun, and Akio-kun.
※Addition: Akio-kun's and Minto-kun's illness could have been lumbar paralysis (also called cerebrospinal nematodiasis. In Japanese youmahi 腰麻痺). It's impossible to confirm, but the time of occurence (October) and clinical symptoms (physical weakness, motor dysfunction, inability to stand and eventual muscle paralysis) fit Minto-kun's and Akio-kun's case. It's a disease caused by parasitic roundworm Setaria digitata which is transmitted by mosquitoes. It doesn't cause problems in all goats that get it. The disease occurs only in the Far East countries (Japan, Korean Peninsula), so there is little information in English, but comparatively more in Japanese. The best description in Japanese is this (a bit old) article by Ayako Shiroto (National Livestock Breeding Center), published on the website of Japan Livestock Technology Association.
We couldn't find a veterinarian that would be expert on goats. So Minto-kun and Akio-kun were treated by a very good, animal-loving veterinarian who, however, doesn't know as much about goats as she knows about cats and dogs. We still appreciate what she did for the two.
Here's the last happy memory of Minto-kun and Akio-kun.
I hope they enjoyed the time with us as much as we enjoyed the time with them. I hope they knew how much we appreciated their unconditional trust, and that we took their trust seriously and did our best to protect them. We did our best, but it wasn't enough.
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