Heard the one about a pygmy goat found swimming in the River Shannon?
The recent hot weather may have inspired many to have a quick dip - and one of these appears to have been a young, male pygmy goat.
The goat - currently unnamed - was found swimming in the River Shannon by tourists docked at the marina in Lanesborough, Co. Longford.
He was carefully removed from the water and temporarily located in the local tennis court because the area is fenced and locals felt he would be safe there.
Joe O'Brien, a local shop owner told Agriland: "I heard from a local community member, Roberto Riozzi, that a goat had been found in the water at the marina, here in the town.
"Roberto came into the shop and asked would I advertise the goat on Facebook to see if anyone would claim it."
"The ISPCA were contacted, and would take the goat and neuter it, but would not hold on to it."
Alan Horohoe, a local community member who keeps pygmy goats, was one of the people who had been contacted to to ask if the goat might be his.
Although Horohoe said it was not one of his goats, he was keen to help.
"I collected the goat from the tennis court because I was worried for his welfare.
" I kept the goat in a separate pen from the rest of my herd while he was here," he added.
Joe O'Brien said he also got two phone calls from people who claimed to own pygmy goats, one of which was an undertaker in Longford town.
This resulted in the goat being collected from Horohoe's farm by undertaker, David Connell.
He said: "We have some pygmy goats here, and when I heard the story I contacted Joe O’Brien".
The goat does not appear to have any ear tags and so is not registered to a flock number.
According to Connell: "He's not nine months yet, he's only a young animal.
"If anybody claims the goat, the animal is here for them, but we're going to mind him for the foreseeable future, and if nobody turns up, then we'll give him a good home."
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) regulations under the National Goat Identification System state that a goat must be double-tagged by the age of nine months or on movement from the establishment, whichever comes first.
