Patches' Pygmy Perfection

Patches was a lawnmower with personality. A Nigerian Dwarf goat with a black-and-white patched coat and comically upright ears, she considered the entire yard her personal buffet and playground. She'd stand on her hind legs to reach low-hanging tree leaves, 'help' with gardening by taste-testing flowers, and greet visitors with a cheerful *maa-aaa* that sounded like a question. The backyard is too still now, missing the *clip-clop* of her tiny hooves on the patio, the head-butting games with the dog, and the sight of her perched on her favorite stump, surveying her kingdom.