A goat in blue jeans brings ‘snuggles’ to Washington community on Valentine’s Day
A 1-year-old goat with “floppy ears and a big ole grin on his face” is putting on his blue jeans.
Vern will be an unexpected surprise this Valentine’s Day to people in one Washington city.
His visits are called “goat grams,” and they come with sweet treats like old-fashioned kettle corn or chocolate peanut butter dream pies, a handwritten card and “goat snuggles.”
“He’s just ready to have people start loving on him,” Hilary Jensen told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
Jensen owns Jensen Farms in Ellensburg with her husband, John, and they started goat grams this year for the holiday.
“I think this is what happens when farmers get bored in February,” Jensen said.
Their pumpkin farm is festive in the fall but slows down during the offseason. So the couple came up with a way to keep their animals socialized while also bringing joy to their community through goat grams.
They completely booked up for Valentine’s Day, so they had to start a day early.
.jpeg "Vern goat _fitted (1).jpeg")
When people see Vern, it’s “just pure joy,” Jensen said.
A parent bought a goat gram for her college student daughter and set up a place for Jensen to surprise her.
“I said ‘You got a goat gram. Happy Valentine’s Day from your mom,’ and she’s like ‘what?’” Jensen said.
The daughter started laughing and said she thought Vern was a dog.
“She just instantly got down on her knees and was loving on Vern, and he was soaking it up,” Jensen said.
In a way Vern is kind of like a dog, Jensen said. He came to their farm this past summer after he was raised alongside one, so he acts like one.
“When there’s people to go see, he’ll make a beeline for the people, so he’s very personable. He always has been,” she said.
Ellensburg is about 110 miles southeast of Seattle.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 5:00 PM with the headline "A goat in blue jeans brings ‘snuggles’ to Washington community on Valentine’s Day."
