Only In Her Duck Costume Does A Rescue Goat With Anxiety Calm Down

It all started when Leanne Lauricella went Halloween shopping at Marshalls. She was walking down the aisles when she came across a child’s duck costume with a large orange beak and two webbed feet.

Lauricella is the founder of Goats of Anarchy, a goat rescue organization in New Jersey. She felt the duck costume would be adorable on her newborn goats, particularly Polly, her newest rescue goat. So she went out and got the outfit, not giving it any thought. Lauricella had no idea how much Polly would like that duck outfit.

Polly is a young goat with significant health problems. She’s blind, has neurological issues that make it difficult for her to feed, and is significantly underweight for her age. She is also afflicted with anxiousness.

Polly frantically runs around the house, weeping her heart out, as she can’t find Lauricella. Polly also has some strange behaviors that Lauricella believes are related to her anxiousness. “She’ll go into the home and pick a corner of a wall and start sucking on it,” Lauricella told The Dodo. “As a result, her mouth has left these tiny suck marks in every part of our house.”

Something wonderful happened when Lauricella put the duck suit on Polly for a photo. “As soon as I placed it on her, she became quiet,” Lauricella explained.

A ThunderShirt or being swaddled in a blanket seems to have the same soothing effect as the duck suit. The duck outfit, on the other hand, worked better than anything else for Polly. “I tried wearing a ThunderShirt, but it didn’t work,” Lauricella explained. “Something about the duck costume makes her feel at ease. She enters a trance-like state. She simply shuts her eyes and disappears.”

Lauricella now puts Polly in the duck costume anytime she has an anxiety attack, and voilà – immediate peace. “She just relaxes and falls asleep,” Lauricella explained. “Instantly. It’s become something she’s famous for.”

When Lauricella has to go errands but can’t leave Polly alone at home, the duck costume comes in handy. When Lauricella went to the store, she dressed Polly in her duck suit, and the tiny goat slept in the shopping cart.

Other costumes, such as a pig costume and a fox costume, appear to have the same soothing effect on Polly. Polly, on the other hand, like the duck suit.

Polly may be little right now, but Lauricella anticipates her growing up and outgrowing her duck costume. “I’m starting to regret not getting the next size up,” she remarked.

However, Lauricella may have discovered a solution in the form of another disabled rescue goat called Pocket, who arrived just a few days ago. “When Pocket got home, I placed him on Polly’s back… and it simply soothed her straight down,” Lauricella explained. “It looked virtually identical to the duck costume. I’ve seen that whenever he’s laying close to her, she immediately relaxes. That’s something I’ve never seen her do with another goat around here.”

Lauricella hopes Polly and Pocket will remain best pals when Polly ultimately moves outside. Lauricella remarked, “I’m hoping she won’t need her duck suit.” “I’m hoping Pocket will turn into a duck suit for her.”