LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – “For I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life,” is a line students across the country memorize as part of the FFA Creed.
Anton FFA Advisor Brian Reed referred his students back to that creed, after a pack of stray dogs killed nine of their show animals.
Reed, also an Ag Sciences teacher at Anton ISD, is helping his students move forward after the attack.
“Eighth grade boy going to feed his animals and walks in and his and everybody else’s are lifeless,” Reed said.
Reed was on the way home from the Texas State Fair with his family Tuesday night, when he received a horrific phone call.
“One of the students called me and said, Dr. Reed, all the goats are dead…and he goes, Oh God, there’s blood everywhere,” Reed said.
The boy told Reed he saw some stray dogs inside the fenced area surrounding the outdoor goat pens. He told the boy to get inside the barn to protect himself, and the several hogs inside.
“You have these days that sometimes you have to, you have to set aside the emotion first and take care of business because there’s still animals here. There’s people that have to be notified. There’s processes that have to be done, that you have to take care of, and then you kind of let the emotion hit,” Reed said.
The dogs killed all nine of the seventh and eighth graders’ show goats. Five of them came from Reed’s own daughter, who breeds them. Two were being leased out and were supposed to return to her after the season, so they could become mother goats.
“She obviously cried the whole trip home. The kids here were distraught. There were parents that were upset and mad, and understandably so,” he said.
Reed says some parents found the dogs and put them down. While he says it isn‘t the dogs’ fault, he’s calling on pet owners to be more responsible. He calls it a no-brainer to get your pet spayed or neutered and keep them fenced.
“There’s always financial constraints. People say, well, it costs too much to do this or that,” he said. “Well, this is a huge cost. It’s a huge, it’s an emotional cost to these kids. It’s a financial cost to their families.”
Reed is now on a time crunch to find new show goats for his students. The deadline for state validation is Oct. 28.
“I posted in a Facebook Ag teacher group, and had a huge response in prayers from some, in offers that, ‘What do you need? We‘ve got, we‘ve still got goats. We can meet you in such and such town, you know. We can figure out budget later. We just need to make sure you’ve got goats in hands for the kids,’” he said.
To help these families recover their financial losses, the school is accepting checks written to the Anton Ag Boosters.
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