What is better than cuddling with a mini goat? They are so little and so sweet, it seems like a perfect match, a lap and a baby goat! At least that is what the Wandering Wolf Ranch has discovered and has turned into a business.
What started as a love for goats and a desire to share that love with others, turned into something more. “So it started off as my wife loved goats, so we were gonna get goats,” explained Robert Witherspoon, owner. “But not everybody has space for goats, so we thought of ways to be able to share our goats with anyone that wanted a chance to meet them and be with them and just see if they like goats. It was just an experience we want to share with people.”
The goat love experience has been well received since they started in 2022. “I believe it was in 2022—it was just what was going to be a one time thing,” shared Witherspoon. “Somebody suggested we should take some goats around and we’re like, that’s a great idea and it’s kind of just grown from there!”
A few goats has turned into 45 goats that currently call the Wandering Wolf Ranch home. They are primarily Nigerian Dwarf goats, though they do have a few Nubian and Alpines in the herd as well. Robert and his wife, Elizabeth, work hard to socialize the goats. They have children who help out with that process. “We have four kids of our own, and they love playing with their goats and hanging out with them,” said Witherspoon.
Seeing the joy that the goats bring to his own children, makes Witherspoon want to share that joy with others. “It’s definitely awesome to see kids really get into the goats, and the adults are really into it as well—I mean, they love them just as much as the kids do,” said Witherspoon. “I really like being able to share that with kids you know, maybe they don’t have access to that kind of thing.”
You can find the Witherspoon family at different events around the area with a pen set up and tiny little goats hanging out inside. They were most recently at the Sunflower Festival and before that at the PTA Carnival.
If you missed them at those events, the Wandering Wolf Ranch will be bringing the goats to Ag Day on Saturday, September 27 at the Roundup grounds. If you have had the pleasure of snuggling to one of the goats before, do not fret as goats all have unique personalities. “Each one’s different, so even if you’ve been with a couple of our goats at one event, if we bring different ones, you could have a completely different experience with the goats,” said Witherspoon.
Another option to consider is sharing the cute and cuddly kid with others via a Goat Gram. “What we do is we’ll bring our goats to pretty much anywhere—birthday parties, corporate events, family reunions, Valentine’s Day—we do a mini Goat Gram. We come for 15 minutes. We can bring a Valentine’s Day gift—usually balloons or chocolates and a card—and you get to hang out with goats,” explained Witherspoon.
If you are interested in learning more about these adorable little creatures, reach out to the Wandering Wolf Ranch through their Facebook page.
The goat enthusiasts really enjoy spreading the joy tiny goats bring to others. “We want to give people a chance to do something they don’t really get to do most of the time—hang out with some goats,” said Witherspoon. “They’re soft, they’re cute, and we socialize them a lot! We do also sell them as pets at the end of their time with us.”
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