'Wally,' Goat Abandoned At Secaucus Walmart, Now At Sanctuary
SECAUCUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A goat abandoned Thursday at the Secaucus Walmart Super Center has been renamed Wally and taken to The Barnyard Sanctuary animal pet farm and rescue due to his infection with a contagious disease.
The dwarf fainting goat was found Thursday morning running loose in one of the nation's largest Walmarts. Animal control officers took the little kid to the sanctuary where he was estimated to be 3 to 4 months old.
In addition, caretakers also discovered the goat was sick with orf, a viral disease which can affect goats, sheep and humans.
Workers at the sanctuary named the baby goat "Wally" -- in honor of Walmart -- and placed him in quarantine for further treatment.
"We believe him to be a Dwarf Nigerian, maybe a fainting goat, as he gets stiff in the hind legs sometimes, if startled," the rescue workers posted on Facebook.
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said the rescue was an easy one.
"It didn't fight us, it went down like a lamb," he said. "Anytime we can save an animal and help an animal, that's what we do."
"It's pretty cool that they did save the goat," said Walmart employee George Arcos.
The city thinks Wally's owner may have been overwhelmed.
"I guess they thought they were trying to save him, but maybe they couldn't manage him, and they dumped him. We found him and we sent them to a rescue down in Route 80," the mayor said. "He will be a happy goat from now on."
The goat's ear was tagged, meaning it was marked for slaughter, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported. The tag was from Indiana.
