While exploring a small island in the middle of Lake Talquin, a woman named Emily spotted something that stopped her in her tracks.
Perched along a rocky cliff stood a single white goat.
No fences.
No farmhouse.
No herd.
Just one goat — completely alone.
“My immediate concern was, ‘Is this goat OK? Why is she all alone?’” Emily said in a video for The Dodo.
The tiny islet was nearly deserted. There were no signs of an owner, no fresh tracks, no shelter. The goat appeared to be surviving — but surviving isn’t the same as thriving.
And Emily knew that.
As co-head of Flying Pig Animal Sanctuary, she understands something many people don’t: goats are deeply social animals. They form bonds. They communicate constantly. They rely on companionship.
“Goats who are alone, they can get depressed,” Emily explained. “They can have loneliness and feel those feelings, just like people can.”
The thought of this goat spending her days in isolation was heartbreaking.
Emily wanted to scoop her up immediately — but she knew she had to be responsible. What if someone came back for her? What if there was an explanation?
So she left.
But she didn’t forget.
Over the next month, Emily returned again and again, bringing hay, fresh salad greens, pellets, minerals and treats. She made sure the goat had clean water. She checked on her constantly.
“Emily kept close tabs on her,” Flying Pig Animal Sanctuary later shared online.
Still, no one came.
After a full month passed without a single claim, Emily and her rescue partner, Skye, made their decision.
They were going back — this time to bring her home.
On rescue day, the goat was understandably nervous. The island had been her entire world. The unfamiliar humans, the gentle coaxing, the small paddleboat waiting at the shore — it was all new.
“We started enticing her to follow us back,” Emily said.
Slowly, cautiously, the goat stepped forward.
They named her Cypress.
As the paddleboat drifted away from the island, Cypress pressed close to Emily, her small body leaning in for comfort.
“She just cuddled into me on the boat,” Emily said.
It was as if she understood that her lonely chapter was ending.
When Cypress arrived at the sanctuary, she faced another big adjustment: other goats.
At first, she seemed unsure. After so much time alone, how would she respond to a herd?
The answer came quickly.
Before long, Cypress was grazing beside them. Running. Playing. Resting in a cluster of warm bodies. For the first time in who knows how long, she wasn’t by herself.
“Seeing her and how excited she was to be with other goats was extremely heartwarming,” Emily said.
The tiny island that once felt like her whole world is now just a memory.
Today, Cypress spends her days surrounded by friends — exactly as goats are meant to be.
Because sometimes, rescue isn’t just about saving a life.
It’s about giving someone their first real friend.
