WILMINGTON, Ohio — After graduating from the Cloverbuds rank for children ages 5-8, Josie Jones, 9, of New Vienna joined the Whatever 4-H Club last winter.

This spring she had no clue what projects to engage in during her first year in 4-H. The only thing she did know is she has a love for the pygmy goat. Several months before the start of the Clinton County Fair in Wilmington earlier this month her mother purchased male and female pygmy goats for Jones, with the intention of breeding them.

The choice of pygmy goats was solely Jones’ decision. "I didn’t want to raise market goats because I wanted an animal I could show and call a pet," she said. "Also, I’ve seen other people showing this breed at the fair and I decided to test my skills at showing them."

Urged to compete at something in her first year in 4-H, she entered one of her pygmy goats in the Junior Fair’s goat show. Jones hit the jackpot, winning Junior Fair Grand Champion.

"I was shocked and I was really nervous in the ring," she said. "When they announced my name as the winner I started getting teary-eyed. I nearly started crying."

Pygmy goats are a breed of miniature domestic goats. The animals tend to be kept primarily as pets, though they also serve well as milk producers and working animals. They quite hardy, an asset in a wide variety of settings, and can adapt to virtually all climates.

Does can weigh up to 75 pounds. Bucks can weigh as much as 86. Both stand from 16-23 inches tall and they come in a variety of colors.

These animals originated in the Cameroon Valley of West Africa and were imported into the United States in the 1950s.

Jones said they’re easy to tend to as they eat very little. Their diet, she explained, includes a little hay and some corn. They’re fed in the morning and evening.

She is no newcomer to animals, though, as she helps tend to turkeys, fancy chickens and goats on her family’s 13-acre farm in New Vienna. She was also planning to test her skills at showing market goats, meat chickens and meat turkeys at the fair as well.

For more information about this breed, contact the National Pygmy Goat Assoc. in Snohomish, Wash., at 425-334-6506.