Pat (Gamlem) Showalter ’56 never dreamed a studio art degree from WSU would lead to raising goats.
Returning to her home state of Washington after earning her degree and starting a family, Showalter earned a teaching certificate from the University of Washington and began teaching art to middle school students.
“One of my students was selling ducks for his uncle,” she relates. “If you can believe this all started with a trio of ducks!”
Those three ducks led Showalter into 12 years of wildlife rehabilitation, working with just about every kind of creature — from squirrels and raccoons to bears.
Early on in her animal rescue mission, she learned that goat milk was the best for feeding baby animals. “I went through a lot of goat milk,” she laughs.
The continual need for milk led her to invest in goats. After her old buck died unexpectedly, she bred a Pygmy buck with a Nubian doe — and Kinder goats were born.
She’s been raising them ever since. Showalter also has created a line of handmade soaps and natural body care products, some of which incorporate goat milk as a key ingredient. She and a friend, who also raises goats, manufacture and package all the items themselves. “It’s a great way to stay young!” Showalter says.
