SOMEONE GET YOUR GOAT? SEND GOAT AND HELP RED CROSS

Is there someone in your life that really gets your goat? If so, on Thursday you can show that person how you truly feel.

Volunteers from the Cape Girardeau County unit of the American Red Cross for a donation of $10 will deliver a pygmy goat to whomever you choose.

"I believe it has the potential to be a lot of fun," said Mary Burton, of the Cape County American Red Cross.

Recipients of the goats are asked to donate $10 to be relieved of the goat. Burton said that recipients can also pay to have the goat "passed on" to someone else.

"We got this idea from another Red Cross chapter," Burton said. "We hope to make it an annual event."

Five teams of two volunteers will canvass the city Thursday delivering the goats. Members of the Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority at Southeast Missouri State University are providing manpower and transportation for the day.

The "Get Your Goat" promotion is one of several fund-raising events in March National Red Cross Month.

"There is a misconception that most people have about us," Burton said. "A lot of people think that we just deal with big disasters, but there is really so much more that we do."

One of those things is providing disaster services for county residents especially victims of house fires.

"We see fires on a weekly basis," Burton said. "Last month we really got hit hard; we have a great necessity for a fund-raiser at this point in time."

The Red Cross has a set amount that people can receive for clothing and shelter after a fire has occurred.

"We once helped a carpenter who lost all of his tools in a house fire buy new ones," Burton said. "We helped him get back on his feet and provided him with what he needed to help himself."

The Red Cross also provides military service emergency communication between service men and women and their families.

"Just today we contacted a man to tell him his wife went into premature labor," Burton said. "He sent back his regards to his wife and new baby."

Military personnel overseas or on ships are contacted via a wire service run by the Red Cross out of Washington, D.C. If the person is stationed within the United States, the Red Cross will contact the person's base by phone to deliver the message.

In addition, the Red Cross can help military persons get extended leave or military loans to help them through hard times.

The Cape County Red Cross operates solely on contributions from the community.

To "Get Your Goat," call the Red Cross at 335-9471. Donations should be sent care of the Cape County American Red Cross, 2610 Gerhardt, Cape Girardeau, 63701.

Next year, "goat insurance" will be made available to persons wishing not to receive a goat. For $20, the person will be issued a contract "exempting him or her from billy goats, nanny goats, kids or, and, other four-footed animals during the term of the policy," Burton said.