Man and his goat pass through Peters Township on cross-country trek
From the “you don’t see that every day” file:
Motorists on Route 19 in Peters Township – sitting in traffic, no doubt – were doing double takes on Wednesday afternoon after seeing a man and his goat walking along the road.
People who work in the vicinity also got a glimpse of the spectacle, as was the case with Mandy Smoke at the St. Clair Hospital Outpatient Center. She snapped a photo and was kind enough to share it with The Almanac.
It turns out that the pair are part of a project, if you will, called Needle2Square. According to the “Our Story” section www.needle2square.com:
“Steve Wescott was just a musician in a band looking for the opportunity to break into the music world. He eventually left everything behind in order to tour full time for a shot at stardom. However, in 2010, Steve felt God call him to walk across America. This ‘calling’ sparked major changes in his life that even he didn’t foresee coming. Steve was still holding onto his dream of a career within the music industry and wasn’t yet willing to leave the band. His plan was to begin the walk as soon as the band was done touring. However, within a few short months, Steve was asked to leave the band. Clearly the Lord had other plans. That dramatically changed the course of his life and he found himself pursuing this mission to walk 3,800 miles from the Space Needle in Seattle to Times Square in New York.
“Although the walk seemed like an amazing quest, Steve knew this project had to have a greater purpose than just walking across America. He desired to partner with an organization, one that he could raise awareness for and help fund an orphanage. Meanwhile, across the world, Steve’s best friend, Stephen Turner (aka ST), was serving as a missionary in Nairobi, Kenya. ST, along with a native Kenyan named Fred, established a nonprofit organization called Uzima Outreach. Starting out solely as a substance abuse program, they quickly realized the importance of a opening a children’s home to rescue the orphaned children in hope of stopping the cycle of addiction and abandonment. After serving a year, ST came back to America and shared his experiences with Steve, when everything just clicked. It was clear that the Lord had been setting the course for Uzima and Needle2Square to partner in what the Lord was doing in the slums of Nairobi.
“Even though Steve was determined to walk across America, he didn’t want to do it alone. He decided to look for a four-legged friend who would make the perfect traveling companion. After a long search, Steve finally found the ‘dog of destiny’ named Louie. Louie was a 10-month-old Rottweiler with whom he had an instant connection. Together they trained for the long journey ahead. Sadly, a few months into training, Louie got hurt while playing at a dog park and the vet advised Steve that Louie should not join him. Determined to move forward, Steve continued to search for a replacement when he saw an ad for the New Moon Goat Rescue in Arlington, Wash. During this process, Steve learned that goats are great pack animals and companions on the road. Not having any prior experience with goats, or any farm animals for that matter, he made the trip to Arlington to see if taking a goat on this walk across America was practical. While there, he met Popsicle (now known as LeeRoy Brown), an Alpine/Boer goat, and the two have been best friends ever since. LeeRoy Brown became the ‘goat of destiny.’
“Steve and LeeRoy started their trek from the base of the Space Needle on May 2, 2012, the 20-year anniversary of his father’s passing. Together, Steve and LeeRoy walked through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois Indiana and part of Ohio. Unfortunately, while in Springfield, Ohio, LeeRoy became very ill and was not able to overcome the illness, passing away on October 6, 2015. LeeRoy was cremated and will now finish the walk all the way to Times Square with Steve and his newest companion, Miles, an Alpine goat.
“Steve spends his time on the road not only walking but also sharing the story of Uzima with curious onlookers, community centers, schools and churches. The goal of Needle2Square is to raise enough funds to purchase an orphanage and land for Uzima Outreach so they can have a more permanent location and become self-sustaining.”
Go, Steve and Miles!