An animal lover and his 10-year-old pet goat have been turning heads around a city by going on daily walks together.
David Hughes, 47, has been walking his large pygmy goat named Boo around their local estates and parks 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.
The pair have to stick to a set route which has been approved by a vet on their adventures around Milton Keynes, Bucks.
David, a technical engineer, said even though he's been walking Boo for nine years, there are still people who haven't seen him before.
He said: "Often I joke that it's a horned dog - sheepdogs always look very confused when they come past.
"Some people think this is too weird and walk straight past while others will come over and want to take a picture.
"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."
Boo and David's walks last them half an hour, allowing time for Boo to stop and sniff, and stretches about a half a mile through the nearby housing estates and parks.
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.
"A couple of policeman stopped their car once and jumped out. It's usually nerve-wracking when the police turn up for anything so I was on edge.
"They said 'its amazing you've got a goat', we laughed about it and then one of officers went on a video call to his mum because she loves goats.
"It was a brilliant case of community policing."
David has owned Boo since he was born in the custom built hutch at the bottom of his garden.
He said his ex-partner had wanted goats so he designed and built the 1.2m by 2m hutch, for Boo's mum Ivy and later Boo himself.
David said: "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.
"When he was born, it was March and chilly outside so we bought him in. He used to go to sleep under the stool so she couldn't bother him."
Boo has since grown to 35kg and is the size of a Labrador - although David said he is cheaper to care for than a dog or cat in vet bills.
David has to have a licence from the local authority to keep wildlife and also 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.
David Hughes, 47, has been walking his large pygmy goat named Boo around their local estates and parks 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.
The pair have to stick to a set route which has been approved by a vet on their adventures around Milton Keynes, Bucks.
David, a technical engineer, said even though he's been walking Boo for nine years, there are still people who haven't seen him before.
He said: "Often I joke that it's a horned dog - sheepdogs always look very confused when they come past.
"Some people think this is too weird and walk straight past while others will come over and want to take a picture.
"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."
Boo and David's walks last them half an hour, allowing time for Boo to stop and sniff, and stretches about a half a mile through the nearby housing estates and parks.
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.
"A couple of policeman stopped their car once and jumped out. It's usually nerve-wracking when the police turn up for anything so I was on edge.
"They said 'its amazing you've got a goat', we laughed about it and then one of officers went on a video call to his mum because she loves goats.
"It was a brilliant case of community policing."
David has owned Boo since he was born in the custom built hutch at the bottom of his garden.
He said his ex-partner had wanted goats so he designed and built the 1.2m by 2m hutch, for Boo's mum Ivy and later Boo himself.
David said: "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.
"When he was born, it was March and chilly outside so we bought him in. He used to go to sleep under the stool so she couldn't bother him."
Boo has since grown to 35kg and is the size of a Labrador - although David said he is cheaper to care for than a dog or cat in vet bills.
David has to have a licence from the local authority to keep wildlife and also 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.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 Good boy.
00:06 Hi I'm David, this is Boo at my feet.
00:10 He's having a rest after a bit of a walk.
00:14 Boo's ten years old.
00:16 I've had him since he was born.
00:18 He was born in the pen.
00:20 I got his mum for milk and she came pregnant with Boo.
00:27 We were expecting two girls and we got one great Boo.
00:34 But he's very useful because he keeps the foxes off the chickens and he likes his walks
00:39 and he entertains everybody else on the walk as well.
00:54 So I started walking Boo when he was about a year old.
00:57 I noticed he had a slightly dodgy shoulder so I was keeping it stretched and keeping
01:02 it exercised.
01:04 His mum didn't like walking, she used to sit down and then sort of go onto her elbows when
01:09 she was trying to take her for a walk.
01:12 But Boo was quite happy to go for walks.
01:17 People's reaction, it really cheers people up.
01:19 It entertains Boo, it keeps him exercised, but people find it unusual.
01:24 I told one lady, I said it's a horned dog and she said, but it looks like a goat.
01:28 I said, OK, it is a goat.
01:32 Generally, either people walk straight past and Boo feels very perturbed about that or
01:38 he gets the attention and he loves the attention.
01:45 So he's surprisingly good on the lead when he's walking.
01:50 Although he does like his shortcuts and he likes to know his route back, but I think
01:58 he's a lot better on the lead than a lot of dogs are.
02:07 When he meets dogs, there are three reactions that he gets.
02:15 One the dog ignores him, or the dog's interested, or the dog starts to bark.
02:20 On a couple of occasions I've had a few dogs dancing around him, but he shows them the
02:25 horns.
02:26 He's never contacted the dogs, but he likes to keep them in eye shot.
02:32 Get the horns!
02:34 They're all getting a bit excited.
02:40 So I take him out on designated routes.
02:44 You've got to register a map of routes where he walks and that is after the foot and mouth
02:51 disease.
02:52 I feel slightly aggrieved at this because the goats and the great orm wander into the
02:56 Azurra or so in Clan Dudno without a goat walking licence, but it does allow me to take
03:01 him out and about every day.
03:04 When Boo's out and about, he's fascinated by most things.
03:08 Slightly scared by horses.
03:09 We have some big horses occasionally come through the park, but everything else he finds
03:14 quite fascinating.
03:15 His ears go forward and he loves to see these things.
03:19 On Christmas day I took him for a walk with a reindeer conversion kit which consisted
03:25 of a set of antlers on a headband and it was the centre of attention.
03:33 Apart from one person who walked straight past him.
03:36 He was quite upset about that I think.
03:38 Yeah Boo loves his walks and I keep taking him for a walk whilst he's happy to walk around
03:44 and he'll continue to keep entertained and entertain everybody else.
03:52 I'm afraid he treats barking with contempt, you know what he's like.
04:17 Come here.
04:24 Come here.