LeeRoy Brown made a stop in Donnelsville last Tuesday and met with another goat who came to hear about his journey. Photo by Nikki Niswonger.

Dr. Dana King has seen many unusual cases at his veterinarian practice over the years, but he never expected to see a goat that he had read about recently in a national publication enter his clinic. Last week Steve Wescott and his goat LeeRoy Brown entered Greene County on their walk across America which started on May 2, 2012 at the Space Needle in Washington State. Their destination is Times Square, New York City.

During a stop at the Fairborn Senior Center to help with the Food Bank distribution, Steve admits that he didn’t pay enough attention to LeeRoy during their brief visit and some generous well-meaning folks fed the goat a little too much people food. As LeeRoy and Steve were walking along Route 40, the goat displayed signs of some intestinal distress and Steve got on his phone and located the “best vet” in the area to handle the health crisis for LeeRoy.

I was able to speak with Steve by phone to get an update on LeeRoy and talk about his travels over the past three years. During our conversation, he received news that his efforts to raise awareness and support for an orphanage in Nairobi Kenya had hit a milestone. The efforts of Steve and his associates to rescue orphans from the ghetto are being realized by an opportunity to purchase two acres of land. Not an easy task where costs for land are high and the need to help the children is so critical.

At age 36, Steve is making a difference for youngsters thousands of miles away and yet he is also making a difference here in America as well. He explained that he spends many hours talking with people and learning from them as well. He stays with host families along his journey who welcome him into their homes and provide a place not only for him to have a good meal, but also soft landings for LeeRoy as well.

This recent down time for LeeRoy is not his first bad experience on the road. The 8 year-old Alpine Boar mix was adopted by Westcott from a goat rescue in Arlington, Washington. While in St. Louis, LeeRoy was attacked by a dog and Steve took ten months off from his journey to allow his travel buddy to recover.

Over the course of this adventure, Steve has worn out 13 pairs of shoes and all but three pair have been generously donated by folks he has met along the way. He depends on the kindness of strangers during his travels and appears to have been very successful in meeting many good and caring Americans. Because pedestrians and animals are not permitted on the interstate highways, Steve is using back roads to see America and make his journey to New York City. He takes the winter off and weather in the northeast is quickly headed to a short time left for Steve to make his goal in 2015.

At press time, LeeRoy was still at the Northside Veterinary Clinic under the care of Dr. King and his staff. It looks like Steve will also be a guest of the Springfield community while LeeRoy continues to recover over the next few days. His faith will carry him through this time and his devotion to LeeRoy will surely speed the healing process for this special goat.

If you would like to learn more about Steve and LeeRoy Brown and follow their progress to New York or perhaps offer some support for not only his travels, but for the effort to build the orphanage, the website is www.needle2square.com or follow them on Facebook at Needle2Square.