Wildfire Crews Get Needed Reprieve From Goldie the Goat

Thought Question: Describe a time a pet or animal helped you feel better. What did they do?

Goldie the Goat knows a thing or two about baaaaaattling wildfires.

Goldie is a brown-and-white Nigerian dwarf goat. She has gone viral for tracking down and helping a crew of firefighters working to contain the Rock Creek Fire in Colorado Springs last week. As crews struggled to find the safest path through the blaze, which had burned more than 17,000 acres of forest along Cheyenne Mountain, Goldie (short for “Golden Oreo”) ambled through the smoke. 

"We're trying to get our gear on, we know it's going to be steep, and we know it's going to be a little bit dicey walking out of there, and she sits in front of me about 10 feet, and she just keeps looking back," crew leader Shane Coyne told CBS Colorado. "She starts making these noises, and the guy behind me goes, 'I think she wants us to follow her.'"

Follow Goldie they did, all the way to the front lines of the fire. Once there, Goldie kept helping. She munched on unburnt brush. Removing it is a key part of containing rampant blazes. She also tried sneaking a nibble of some firefighters’ lunches. She busied herself with chasing after a fire truck and butting in wherever she could. 

“She was able to give some comedic relief … for these guys and gals who have worked really, really hard,” Lindsey Glader told The Associated Press. Glader is Goldie's owner.

Cellphone footage of Goldie’s firefighting antics spread quickly on social media. The local firefighters’ foundation has been able to sell Goldie t-shirts and other merch. The profits support the crews still in the field. Colorado is the site of 67 active wildfires.

Photo of Goldie from Instagram courtesy of @csfdpio.