DENVER (KDVR) — An outdoor excursions business in Weld County that uses goats to help with its hiking trips is now reeling after two of those goats were killed by a wild animal.
Diego Buitron decided to get goats after suffering a severe back injury that left him paralyzed for a time.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to walk again so I started looking into using pack animals,” he said.
Recovering his ability to walk, he decided to use what he learned about pack animals to start a business, Colorado Capra Excursions, taking hikers who may need some extra help out into the wilderness.
“The goats carry the gear for them,” Buitron explained.
He started with four goats, enough to carry several hundred pounds of equipment. But earlier this month, he received a shock after getting home from a day out.
“I came back and only two of my goats, these two, came to visit me up at the gate and that was super obscure,” said Buitron.
He found one in the pen, bleeding from injuries.
“And then I just happened to see way off in the distance another one had been dragged out there,” said Buitron.
They both died. Buitron was heartbroken.
“Didn’t eat, sleep, drink, anything,” he said.
He thinks a coyote slipped under his fence, but isn’t exactly sure what attacked his goats. Since then, his business has been on hold. He thinks it will have to be for several months, potentially losing out on thousands of dollars.
“It’s probably going to be about $35 to $40,000,” Buitron said.
His sister started a GoFundMe, available here, to help recover some of that lost income and get two more goats. Buitron said that despite what happened, he doesn’t fault his goats’ attacker.
“I don’t hold any sort of anger towards them,” says Buitron. “They’re just doing what’s natural to them.”
