The goat who hopped his way into a half-marathon in eastern Newfoundland — and took home a medal for his efforts — is becoming a bit of an international celebrity, with interviews and even a television appearance, says his owner.
On Sunday Joshua the goat joined more than 250 runners in Conception Bay South’s T’Railway Trek Half Marathon. Since then, his story has spread across Canada, and far beyond.
Heidi Taylor, one of Joshua’s owners at Taylor’s Pumpkin Patch in the town near St. John’s, says she’s been blown away by the attention her goat is getting.
“I’m driving along and I’m like, this doesn’t seem real. This does not seem real. You know, if a goat was going to be loved so much, he’s definitely the one — because he is so, so sweet,” she told CBC News.
On Thursday, Taylor recorded a segment for an Australian game show and has fielded calls from Germany. She has told Joshua’s story to a Las Vegas-based Amazon warehouse filled with hundreds of employees. “They just found it so heartwarming,” said Taylor. “It’s been, like, amazing.”
In the past few days she said Joshua has gotten a lot of visitors at the pumpkin patch, in addition to international media queries.
“We’ve had a lot of attention actually, right across the world,” she said, listing off interviews with or appearances in the Washington Post, The National, The Globe and Mail and even the Latin Times.
“It’s just every time I go in and look, there’s another one at it,” she said.
Someone has reached out about a children’s book, and there’s interest in a podcast.
When her goat joined the half-marathon, she said she expected the story to reach across Newfoundland and Labrador through social and news media.
“But I didn’t think it would go like this. I actually keep saying to myself, ‘He’s a goat. He’s a goat, you know?'”
Dropping a puck
Taylor said she had initially worried that Joshua would be sore after the half-marathon, but he was fine. “It wasn’t until that night — in the 10 years that we’ve owned him — that I actually caught him sleeping.”
Taylor said Joshua is very much loved in the family, adding they’ve always had animals like cows, sheep and lambs on the farm but that goats are great with their pumpkin patch.
Joshua the goat made a spur-of-the-moment decision to join the 250 runners as they passed by Taylor’s Pumpkin Patch during the T’Railway Trek Half Marathon in Conception Bay South. Jeremy Taylor of Taylor’s Pumpkin Patch talks about Joshua’s run, his newfound fame, and his social nature.
“They’re so good with kids and things,” she said. “None of us have a dog. So he’s our pet.”
Besides interviews, Joshua has had social engagements within the community in the past week, including an appearance at a council meeting, said Taylor.
On Saturday night, he will be the C.B.S. arena for the Junior Renegades puck drop.
“He’ll be on the carpet because, you know, he doesn’t do well on ice,” she said.
But Taylor added this will likely be his last public outing. “As you can imagine, you know, it’s a lot for him, taking him to and from places.”
Fans will be able to visit him at Taylor’s Pumpkin Patch, she said, which opens for the season this Saturday. “He’s lonely. He loves people and I encourage people all the time to come give him some peels,” she said.
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