A Wigan goat walker has urged cyclists to be more careful when riding on shared-use paths after she was injured when her pet pygmy goat bolted as a pair of riders passed. Donna Charnock told Wigan Today (link is external) that she regularly walks her goats on The Lines, a gravel three-metre-wide bridleway, but was left with a £120 bill for her broken glasses and some injuries after the recent incident.

"We were alongside Standish High School’s playing fields when two cyclists - a man and woman who appeared to be in their 20s or 30s - passed us at speed abreast," the goat walker recalled. "This caused Porthos, a powerfully-built animal, to bolt. I lost my footing and was dragged along the gravel surface for several yards. I had to release Porthos, who galloped off leaving me on the ground, and my husband had to leave me to sprint after him.

"The cyclists failed to stop, though they would have had to be stone deaf to be unaware of the accident they had caused, as I was screaming, and my husband was shouting after them. Fortunately, a lovely lady saw the incident unfold and came to my assistance. I was dazed, bleeding and in considerable pain; the lenses of my glasses were broken and the frame had cut into my forehead just above my left eye. My right knee had taken much of the impact, as had my head and face."

The 60-year-old was told to visit the hospital by her GP, who feared she had broken ribs. X-rays showed no breaks but she did have to spend £120 on a new pair of glasses. Asked whether she'll continue to walk Athos (presumably named after her favourite Specialized ride...minus the e), Porthos and Aramis on the bridleway, Donna said she would and stressed she believes it was probably a one-off as people are normally keen to stop and ask about the unusual pets.

"Be careful. You see people on The Lines with their children out of the prams and if we take the goats, these little toddlers just want to rush over. When I think of that, cyclists could take anybody out - an elderly person out with their dogs or a child. They need to be aware that animals could be there. We are in charge of our responses as humans, but animals respond differently."

Strangest pets you've ever seen out on a ride? The viral clip of the man walking an emu springs to mind...do we have a higher bid?

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-16-august-2021-285661#live-blog-item-27063

On Monday, 16 August 2021 at 13:37:47 UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> A Wigan goat walker has urged cyclists to be more careful when riding on shared-use paths after she was injured when her pet pygmy goat bolted as a pair of riders passed. Donna Charnock told Wigan Today (link is external) that she regularly walks her goats on The Lines, a gravel three-metre-wide bridleway, but was left with a £120 bill for her broken glasses and some injuries after the recent incident.
>
> "We were alongside Standish High School’s playing fields when two cyclists - a man and woman who appeared to be in their 20s or 30s - passed us at speed abreast," the goat walker recalled. "This caused Porthos, a powerfully-built animal, to bolt. I lost my footing and was dragged along the gravel surface for several yards. I had to release Porthos, who galloped off leaving me on the ground, and my husband had to leave me to sprint after him.
>
> "The cyclists failed to stop, though they would have had to be stone deaf to be unaware of the accident they had caused, as I was screaming, and my husband was shouting after them. Fortunately, a lovely lady saw the incident unfold and came to my assistance. I was dazed, bleeding and in considerable pain; the lenses of my glasses were broken and the frame had cut into my forehead just above my left eye. My right knee had taken much of the impact, as had my head and face."
>
> The 60-year-old was told to visit the hospital by her GP, who feared she had broken ribs. X-rays showed no breaks but she did have to spend £120 on a new pair of glasses. Asked whether she'll continue to walk Athos (presumably named after her favourite Specialized ride...minus the e), Porthos and Aramis on the bridleway, Donna said she would and stressed she believes it was probably a one-off as people are normally keen to stop and ask about the unusual pets.
>
> "Be careful. You see people on The Lines with their children out of the prams and if we take the goats, these little toddlers just want to rush over.. When I think of that, cyclists could take anybody out - an elderly person out with their dogs or a child. They need to be aware that animals could be there. We are in charge of our responses as humans, but animals respond differently."
>
> Strangest pets you've ever seen out on a ride? The viral clip of the man walking an emu springs to mind...do we have a higher bid?
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-16-august-2021-285661#live-blog-item-27063

I hope she has goat insurance. She was unable to control her animal in public.

On Monday, August 16, 2021 at 4:28:14 PM UTC+1, Mike Collins wrote:

> >
> > Strangest pets you've ever seen out on a ride? The viral clip of the man walking an emu springs to mind...do we have a higher bid?
> >
> > https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-16-august-2021-285661#live-blog-item-27063
> I hope she has goat insurance. She was unable to control her animal in public.

" NPlus1Bikelight... | 202 posts | 5 hours ago
2 likes

A couple near me walk goats, also on a shared use path, they should switch to more docile sheep. They both hold the lead with two hands (one at the end and one half way along, short leash) but she is not strong enough to control a single goat, they are powerful things: If you call out a warning it bolts and drags her, if you ring your bell it bolts and drags her, if you hop onto the road and cycle passed at all near the kerb it bolts and drags her. PTSD from other cyclists is possible. They have been doing this way before the pavement was shared use and widened. Another score for the uselessness of shared-use paths.

John Stevenson | 718 posts | 6 hours ago
3 likes

The picture shows a goat in a Julius K-9 harness (and pics on Wigan Today suggest that's what Ms Charnock routinely uses). The problem with these harnesses is that they provide no means at all of controlling a spooked animal aside from main force: if you're not strong enough to physically pull the animal back, then it's just going to tow you along.

They're less than ideal for many dogs. Using them as a restraint for a prey species is just stupid.

Log in or register to post comments

Avatar
brooksby replied to John Stevenson | 7796 posts | 5 hours ago
0 likes

When we got our dog from the home, he had a harness. My wife had discussions with a local dog trainer as she found him hard to control and the trainer said sometimes collar-and-lead works better. In our dog's case, it really did.

(I think that the harness gave him much more to pull against).