MACUNGIE, Pa. — An unexpected shepherd recently helped usher about a dozen goats back home after they escaped from their enclosure and drifted close to Route 100.
A tractor-trailer truck slowed down traffic, with the driver honking the large vehicle's horn and driving alongside the critters until they scurried home farther onto the property where they were fenced in.
Nancy Luhman of Macungie captured the Thursday event in a photo that she posted on the local Macungie, PA Neighborhood Facebook group.
- About a dozen goats from a herd of more than 20 escaped from a property along Route 100 near Macungie on Thursday.
- A tractor-trailer helped to guide the goats back to the property and kept them along the side of the highway.
- Commuters say the goats have become a joyful sight on their drive and the herd has been growing for about six years.
"I was driving south on 100; I go to work every day that way," Luhman said. "Traffic was at a stop in front of me. I thought, 'What the heck's going on?'"
She said the next thing she saw was a tractor-trailer truck next to the goats, appearing to be herding them back toward their home, blowing his horn alongside them to keep them moving and out of the street.
“It was pretty adorable,” Luhman said in the post, and was glad none got hurt.
Locals on the social media platform were good sports about it, with some speaking with praise for the truck driver. Others mentioned how much they appreciated seeing the goats on their commutes on the route.
“Those silly goats,” said one person in a comment to the post. “Glad they all got back home safe. They are little escape artists."
“My favorite thing is to see them when I drive down Rt. 100!” another said. "Glad they were herded home safely.”
“I love seeing them on the car in the yard, makes me giggle,” one more nearby resident said. “They are unruly and chaotic and I love them so much.”
One commenter even offered to buy the truck driver a Wawa gift card for his good deed.
Ellie Raudenbush lives with her son, Chip Keller, who owns the herd of more than 20 goats, at the at the farmhouse property from which they escaped.
Raudenbush said she was in the middle of a card game with a small group of her friends when a stranger in a blue pickup truck rang her doorbell to alert them once the goats were safely in the grassy part of the driveway.
"We are all senior citizens who are not exactly goat herders," Raudenbush said. "We are not capable of running after them, but we did walk them in. They're very friendly."
She said the goats were able to jump out because of a temporary issue with the electric fence that keeps them in. The issue since has been resolved, she said.
"I was blown away. I had no idea," Raudenbush said.
However, she said she has experienced some signs of the locals paying attention at times when members of the herd were let out of their fence.
"It got to the point the one time I had to put a little post-it note on the side of the door by the doorbell, 'The goats are tethered. Thank you for your concern,' because people would drive by and think they were loose," Raudenbush said.
Keller, the owner, said he has been growing the herd for about six years.
He said he wants to make sure the community knows that it is not safe to go up to the goats without permission. Not only is the fence electric, but it may encourage them to try to jump again, he said.
As Raudenbush pointed out, though, goats can be a very fun pet to have — which as demonstrated can be to the amusement of the community on their drives by.
"They're so much fun to watch, especially the little babies," she said. "They get real feisty, and they try to butt heads and act like the big girls. And they're funny."
