Goat rescued after tree falls on cage

By Jessica Stith
of The Daily Times Staff

Blount County firefighters rescued a kid goat on Sunday after a pine tree fell on its cage, causing the cage to collapse.

The kid belonged to Dr. David Gilliam, Blount County medical examiner, and lived on farmland on West Millers Cove Road in Walland.

The Blount County Fire Department received a call about the goat at about noon, and eight firefighters responded with three trucks in hopes to rescue the goat.

“A large pine tree fell from the wind and fell on top of the cage that the goat was in,” Blount County firefighter Will Thacker said.

The pine tree was uprooted during the storm and fell directly onto the goat’s cage.

Thacker said firefighters used air bags and wood cribbing to lift the tree from the cage. He said Capt. Jim Patty and Firefighter Gary Brewer used a small saw to “cut the cage away from the goat,” which had collapsed on top of the animal. The rescue took about 15 minutes.

Firefighters were able to free the kid and Thacker said it did not appear to have any injuries. He said they handed the goat over to its owner who placed the goat out of harms way in a barn.