In Loving Memory Imperial K Bonnie January 24, 2005 - July 22, 2020

Photo cred @jana_b_anana

It is with a very sad, and heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of our beloved herd Queen, Imperial K Bonnie.   This beautiful horned Queen of mine was the Matriarch of my herd since she came to my farm in 2009. The very first Nigerian Dwarf to join my breeding program, Bonnie and I go back to the very beginning days of my vision to create this farm.  Bonnie was not a lover by any means, and much preferred to spend her time giving people the "stink eye" from a distance.  More times than not I would hear visitors remark on how it felt like Bonnie would look right through them like they weren't even there.  That really sums up the persona that Bonnie was.  Enigmatic, elusive, wild and always free, Bonnie was the one that I could never tame.   That is because she was never meant to be tamed.  She will always remain as free and wild as the heart that beats in me.  She inspired me often to never give up or back down, even when the odds were huge against me.  I will be forever grateful to the wonderful teacher she has been to me in teaching me on how to lead the herd in a respectful way.  The patience Bonnie had for me, to allow me to learn through making mistakes in training the herd, allowed my programs to get to where they are now.   It may seem strange for some to read these words, however when you raise animals with autonomy, you really do get to know them on an individual "being" level.   The stories I share come from my heart, as I know each of my animals very deeply and personally, and have grown with them all over many years.  In the very beginning, my program started with two Nigerians: Bonnie, and the also recently deceased, Imperial K Gigalo.  Every dream starts somewhere, and mine started with those two goats.  From their first breeding at my farm, came the first generation of Sky River Meadows therapy goats, their daughter SRM Cassiopeia.  Fast forward down the generational line to the babies that were recently born on July 13th, 2020, and those two beautiful babies are actually Bonnie and Gigalo's 6x's great grandchildren.  The blue eyes these new babies have are the same eyes that Bonnie has consistently passed down through each generation.  I have other blue eyed goats in my herd as well, but these stark deep blue eyes are all Bonnie's.  Like a perfect blue sky day. 

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I will deeply miss Bonnie and how she has kept me on my toes every single day since she came into my life.  The lessons she has taught me about respecting the herd, trusting my intuition, and always listening to my heart, have helped to shape me into the woman I am today.  Of all my herd, Bonnie has been my greatest teacher.  My life will not be the same without her here, and I hope that her spirit remains to watch over the herd she helped me create.  She was laid to rest on the west corner of the farm, facing east towards the rising sun, under a big spruce tree beside her great granddaughter SRM Aphrodite.

Bonnie was the very first Goat of the Week that I wrote and I have linked it below for anyone who is interested.  There is a gallery of photos there as well that truly capture the spirit of this beautiful soul.  Rest in peaceful green pastures Bonnie <3 

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​https://www.skyrivermeadows.com/healing-with-the-herd---blog/goat-of-the-week-imperial-k-bonnie