It all started when Leanne Lauricella went shopping at Marshalls before Halloween. She was browsing the aisles when something caught her eye — a child’s duck costume, complete with a big orange bill and two webbed feet.

Lauricella runs a goat rescue group called Goats of Anarchy in New Jersey. She thought the duck costume would look cute on her baby goats, especially the newest rescue goat named Polly. So she bought the costume and took it home, not thinking too much of it. Little did Lauricella know just how much Polly would love that duck costume.

Now, whenever Polly has an anxiety attack, Lauricella puts her into the duck costume, and voila — instant calm. “She just calms down and goes to sleep,” Lauricella said. “Instantly. It’s become a thing that she’s known for.”

The duck costume is also useful when Lauricella has to run errands, but can’t leave Polly alone at home. When Lauricella once stopped at a local store, she put Polly into her duck suit, and the little goat snoozed in the shopping cart.

Over on her animal rescue site The Dodo, author Elizabeth Claire Roberts fills in the Polly tale: Rescue Goat With Anxiety Only Calms Down In Her Duck Costume with many more images of Polly in all her costumed glory:

And shares the story of Polly’s new companion Pocket, another disabled rescue goat who calms her down too.

To help pay for Polly’s future needs, you can make a donation to Goats of Anarchy here.

When I was 5-6 years old I lived in the US Virgin Islands on a small cay between St Thomas & St John called Lovango that was home to 16 humans (including my grandparents and me) and about 250 goats. I was too young to appreciate them, in fact I came to resent them because the billys would regularly sneak up and butt me and knock me down.

But now I count myself as a caprinophile and like and admire them. For you of a similar inclination here’s an album of goats: