1 week Ago By The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
The pregnant goat was walking along the road when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver. According to a news release received Tuesday by The Times-Tribune, a witness to a crime involving Peach, a visibly pregnant goat, said the animal was “deliberately” hit by the driver. The release, issued by Indraloka Sanctuary, stated the witness observed the goat walking down a “quiet rural road,” when an oncoming driver slowly approached the goat with their vehicle, then accelerated and veered toward the goat, striking her before speeding away.
The observer noted the hit-and-run driver’s license plate, then rushed the injured animal to Indraloka’s NEPA Rescue Veterinary Clinic in Dalton, later reporting the crime to authorities who are conducting an investigation. Dr. Indra Lahiri, the founder of Indraloka Sanctuary, said her organization acted fast to care for the injured goat, who sustained fractured ribs, spinal injuries, a dislocated hip and significant bruising.
“We jumped into action to make sure she had help, because all of our clinic partners rescue dogs and cats and other standard animal companions, where we take farm animals,” she said. Indraloka was in the midst of handling another emergency with another pregnant goat that was abandoned by the roadside, and asked another organization, Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, for help. The High Falls, New York, sanctuary stepped in and will serve as Peach’s “forever home.
” “We are so grateful for the kind person who saw her on the road and took action and for the wonderful people at Indraloka who took her in,” said Rachel McCrystal, the executive director of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. “It takes one person to hurt an animal, but a community to step in and help them recover.” While Peach’s unborn baby is expected to survive and join her mother in a few weeks, Lahiri said it may take four to six months for the goat to recover physically, if not longer, adding that “emotionally, some of those scars will be there forever.
” Peach will require surgery for a damaged femur after her baby is born. Lahiri said that, because of the love Peach is receiving now, hopefully she will be able to make a full recovery. “It was wonderful that our friends in Woodstock could take her,” Lahiri said, explaining that on the occasion when several emergencies happen in a row, it can deplete her sanctuary of the necessary funds and space to handle them all at the same time.
Wayne Harvey, a humane society police officer with the SPCA of Luzerne County, said that if the driver were to be found guilty of the crime described, they would be in violation of “Libre’s Law.” The state statute takes its name from an abused dog, and was signed in 2017 by former Gov. Tom Wolf in an overhaul to the animal abuse laws.
Among other things, the law requires animal abusers convicted of a related felony to forfeit their animals. “Indeed, if someone did do that, which is kind of stupid to hit a large animal with your vehicle like that, they could be facing felony charges,” said Harvey. “In our case, we would file the case in court and go pick them up and take them away in handcuffs .
.. that’s how serious they can get.
” Vickie VanGorder, also a humane society police officer with the Luzerne SPCA, said the law applies to “all domestic animals.” “Law 18 includes all domestic animals, horses, pigs, dogs, sheep, cows, etc.,” VanGorder explained.
Mark McAndrew, Lackawanna County sheriff, said that when a person witnesses a crime to an animal, they should report it to police the way they’d report a crime that occurred to a human. Though tragic, Lahiri hopes the incident can be used as a teaching moment for Northeast Pennsylvania and beyond. “We as a society need to think about how we’re treating each other, and especially how we’re treating those who have no power,” Lahiri said.
“We need to understand that if we continue to accept this kind of cruelty, it’s only going to get worse.”.
