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FOUND! Rare goat had been missing from Saanich farm

Stolen Goat
Valerie Macdonald gives eleven-month-old Xing Xing a cuddle after her mother Velella (inset)

Xing Xing the goat won't be motherless on her first birthday, as previously feared.

The 11-month-old Oberhasli lives with her mom Velalla and family on Valerie and Bob Macdonald's Old West Saanich Road farm. But on Sunday night, Xing Xing's mom vanished, leaving the farmers and police to fear she'd been kidnapped.

"I went out about 9 o'clock (Monday morning) and discovered she was missing. Because of the goat theft in the lower Fraser Valley, I (thought) she'd probably been taken," Valerie said of three-year-old Velella’s disappearance. "There was no signs of struggle, no fur, no blood, no drag marks. I looked everywhere where she could be hiding all around the property – no goat."

However, on Wednesday the story ended with a happy ending after Velalla was found on the farm.

(More to come)

Macdonald is a hobby farmer, breeding goats to create Canadian purebred Oberhasli, a rare breed related to the European Ibex.

Stolen livestock has become a real problem on the Lower Mainland. Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen says it's also something officers have dealt with here in the past.

"Over the years, there have been instances of sheep going missing, stuff like that, in the more rural parts of the municipality, so it's not uncommon," he said. "But it's very sad. It's a loss of a family friend here."

Macdonald, who has 22 dairy goats on her farm, quickly ruled out Velella escaping or being taken by a cougar.

B.C. Conservation Service was called to ensure there wasn't a threat to the other animals from a cougar or bear that could be targeting the property.

Law enforcement in Langley, Aldergrove and Abbotsford have dealt with similar disappearances of sheep, chickens and goats.

kslavin@saanichnews.com