Lions and Tigers and...Goats? Oh, my

"I think you'd better call 911." You never really want to have someone start a conversation like that, right? Now imagine it's 11:30 at night and you are the only cashier up front at the grocery store where you work. The other night a lady came up to my register looking slightly nervous. She stared at me for what seemed like a really long time, but was really only about 5 or 10 seconds, without saying anything. I was just about to ask her if I could help her with something when she said to me, "I think you better call 911." I stood there for a second as all the possible scenarios ran through my mind. I thought this woman was going to pass out right in front of me at my register. Or someone had slipped on a patch of ice out in the parking lot. Or there had been a car accident or some sort of fender bender in front of the store. Or two high school kids were fighting at the back of the store. But what she actually said next was not any of the scenarios that I thought about. So what she said was, "There are goats in the parking lot. I think they must have escaped from somewhere and I think you should call 911 because I'm afraid they're going to run out into the road." I certainly didn't want anything bad to happen to the goats but I have to admit my first thought was, you have got to be kidding me. Goats in the parking lot? I don't get paid enough to deal with goats in the parking lot at 11:30 at night. Then I thought, you don't call 911 for goats in the parking lot. But I followed the lady outside to the parking lot and at first I didn't see them. She looked around and she said, "They were there a minute ago. They were right behind my car." And that was one of the reasons I was so hesitant to call 911 in the first place--because I thought that by the time anyone got there the goats would be gone. I also considered calling animal control but it's not like the number to animal control is on speed dial on the phone at the grocery store and I also figured since it was so late no one would be there anyway. I scanned the parking lot looking for the goats and then I saw three little goats at the other end of the parking lot. "Oh, there they are." I pointed. "o.k well, I'll go tell my manager and she'll call someone." I told the lady. I went and told the manager (I know I was sort of passing the buck here) and she came outside with me to look but by the time she came outside we couldn't see them anymore. Last I knew the lady was in her car and she was trying to steer these poor little goats away from the road--which I fear may have done more harm then good--but who knows. I hope the goats got back "home" or ended somewhere safe and warm. So these are the late night adventures at a grocery store in Farm Country, USA.