Animal lover takes pet goat with osteoarthritis for daily walks on housing estate - and he loves meeting dogs
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David Hughes, 47, speaks in the video about his daily walks with a large pygmy goat named Boo - who has been raising smiles and turning heads for the last nine years. Boo developed osteoarthritis when he was one and David decided to take the him out on regular walks to keep him moving. He said: "Often I joke that it's a horned dog - sheepdogs always look very confused when they come past. When I walk him along the road, people in cars wave and smile at us. Parents especially like pointing out to their children that there is a goat on the street."
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Hide AdBoo always gets time to stop and sniff as they walk around the nearby housing estates and parks, in Milton Keynes. The father-of-two said: "Boo likes the attention and he’s fascinated by dogs. I use a standard lead and collar although he is quite strong, especially when he sees something he wants to take a closer look at. On the estate there are a lot of cul-de-sacs and he likes to wander down those, picking a house and standing on their driveway.”
David has owned Boo since he was born in the custom built hutch at the bottom of his garden. He added: "When Boo was really little, he used to stand on my shoulders. He’s called Boo because he used to hide under a kitchen stool from his mum when we brought him inside.”
Boo has since grown to 35kg and is the size of a Labrador. He has a licence from the local authority to keep wildlife and also needed a ‘walking licence’ through the Animal Health Protection Agency to be able to take Boo out in public places. He said Boo is "peaceful and inquisitive" and he eats carrots and goat mix - as well as a ginger biscuit if he's been good.
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