Army West Point Black Knights

University of Pennsylvania saves Navy's Bill the Goat

Published Dec. 10, 2015 11:45 a.m. ET

foxsports

Navy's Bill the Goat survived a health scare this week, but thanks to the care of the New Bolton Center of the University of Pennsylvania he will be back on the sideline this Saturday when No. 23 Navy (9-2) faces Army (2-9) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

It is believed that the goat may have eaten some plants that are harmful to goats, but a quick response by his handlers enabled him to get back on the road to recovery.

Via Philly.com:

Things looked grim for the Navy goat.

Nauseated and laboring to breathe, he was rushed by his handlers from Annapolis, Md., to the New Bolton Center of the University of Pennsylvania, the nearest 24-hour large-animal hospital. ...

Blood tests showed abnormalities in his electrolytes and a high level of acidity. It appeared that Bill - Bill 36, to be exact - might have eaten an azalea bush, toxic to goats.

Holly Roessner, an intern on duty in the emergency room that November night, inserted a tube down Bill's throat and into his rumen, the largest of his four stomachs. Then she administered medicine to absorb the toxins. New blood tests showed it was working, and an addition of a painkiller the next morning had Bill back on all fours.
"He looked great," Roessner said.

Bill will have plenty of company Saturday when the Middies face the Cadets. Bill 36 and his twin Bill 35 will be joined by Bills 33 and 34, who are close to the end of the line and ready to retire.

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