El Paso Matters – Animal rescuer drops plans for Bob the Goat memorial in El Paso after backlash

An animal rescue advocate in El Paso said she would no longer be involved with a memorial project for Bob the Goat after receiving criticism on social media. Despite public calls for a monument to memorialize the goat, representatives for state agencies said they are not involved with any project as of Friday.

Bob was an elderly domestic goat that lived in the Franklin Mountains until its death Aug. 13, when a Texas Parks and Wildlife employee tried to capture it for relocation. The goat was a beloved celebrity that locals would spot from Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive, but posed a risk to the state’s plan to restore desert bighorn sheep. The sheep are native to the Franklin Mountains and vulnerable to disease carried by other sheep and goats.

Karen Washington, president of nonprofit animal rescue group Pawsitive Rescuer, announced Tuesday on Facebook the goat’s horns “have been cleaned and returned.” The post included a since-removed photo of Bob the Goat’s skull with curling horns mounted on a plaque. Washington arranged the mounting at NB Taxidermy in Sunland Park, New Mexico, according to the post.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesperson confirmed staff provided her the skull.

Washington wrote she was considering a memorial for Bob the Goat on the side of Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive with the help of a local artist and the Texas Department of Transportation. She later posted a GoFundMe fundraiser and popular Instagram account @therealfitfamelpaso shared her efforts.

But two days later, Washington canceled the fundraiser and abandoned plans for a memorial or tribute to Bob the Goat. There are no plans to pass the project on to someone else, she told El Paso Matters via text Thursday.

As of Friday afternoon, the FitFam post amassed nearly 19,000 likes, more than 450 comments and more than 850 shares. Many online commenters expressed support for a memorial, but also criticized or questioned how the goat’s remains were and would be handled.

“The public has made this about ‘taxidermy’ and not about a memorial,” Washington wrote in a text message. “As far as I’m aware, no one else has any plans to spearhead something like this.”

What happened to Bob the Goat’s remains?

In September, El Paso Matters confirmed Bob the Goat’s death, which occurred when a Texas Parks and Wildlife employee tried to relocate it ahead of the desert bighorn sheep release.

Bob the Goat died in August, likely from the stress of capture, while tethered to a tree by its horns and a makeshift rope halter, according to a necropsy report obtained by El Paso Matters. The report also cited the goat’s old age as a contributing factor.

“We recognize that the results were undesirable, but also understand that unintended deaths are a possibility when working with animals, even when staff are properly trained and precautionary measures taken,” said Froylán Hernández, desert bighorn sheep program leader at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

After the necropsy, Texas Parks and Wildlife staff submitted a nasal swab and lung tissue to a laboratory in Washington, D.C., to test the goat for disease. Staff saved the goat’s head in a freezer in Alpine, Texas, while the rest of the goat’s body went to a landfill, Hernández said.

It was necessary to hold on to the head in case test results were inconclusive or the lab had additional questions, Hernández told El Paso Matters.

How did El Paso animal rescuer receive Bob the Goat’s skull and horns?

After receiving the test results, Hernández said he made the call to return what was left of Bob the Goat’s remains to El Paso rather than dispose of them. No one, including Washington, reached out to Texas Parks and Wildlife asking to save those remains, he said.

Hernández said he contacted Washington first about the remains because “she started the whole FitFam conversation,” referring to the immediate backlash and wave of misinformation Texas Parks and Wildlife received over the goat’s death after the Instagram account posted about it.

The account, @pawsitiverescuers, left multiple comments on the initial FitFam post, describing Texas Parks and Wildlife as “murderers” in some of them. 

Texas Parks and Wildlife staff met in-person with Washington and others involved with Pawsitive Rescuers in September to explain the reasons for the goat’s relocation and dispel inaccurate claims about the goat’s death, Hernández said. Cory Chandler, a spokesperson for Texas Parks and Wildlife, confirmed the meeting occurred.

“She came around and understood the reasons behind our actions,” Hernández said. “I guess as a sign of good will, an olive branch to show there was no animosity, I gave her the head.”

Hernández said he cleaned the head by removing the meat and hide, then drove from Alpine to El Paso to personally deliver the skull and horns to Washington on Sept. 19. Texas Parks and Wildlife did not arrange the taxidermy mounting, he said.

In a prior meeting, Washington expressed interest in setting up a memorial so he put her in contact with people from Franklin Mountains State Park.

“Their request for a monument, for lack of a better word, was denied,” he said. “That’s why I thought I would like to offer this head to her.”

What’s next for Bob the Goat memorial?

Washington said she plans to refund people who donated to her GoFundMe, adding “if you didn’t donate, you should not be concerned.” The fundraiser received $460 over two days before it stopped accepting donations.

Before ending her plans, Washington and commenters on the Pawsitive Rescuers Facebook page floated several ideas online for a tribute, including a silhouette art installation of Bob the Goat off Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive, or the skull and horns presented at Tom Mays Unit in Franklin Mountains State Park or the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.

Lauren Macias-Cervantes, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation, confirmed the agency received an inquiry regarding a memorial for Bob the Goat, but does not have an available program to install any of the requested memorial markers.

“Our Memorial Sign Program requires an application for consideration, but this program is only eligible for victims of impaired driving, victims of motorcycle crashes and one for peace officers,” she wrote in an email.

Macias-Cervantes said “the requestee” is free to coordinate with private property owners or Texas Parks and Wildlife for placement of any memorial markers.

Chandler told El Paso Matters, however, that Texas Parks and Wildlife’s “commemorative works policy would not allow for a monument as proposed on state park property.” The agency is not involved in planning for a memorial project, Chandler said.

Washington said in the meantime, Bob the Goat’s skull and horns will be “safe” with her. 

The post Animal rescuer drops plans for Bob the Goat memorial in El Paso after backlash appeared first on El Paso Matters.

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