Todd “Gready” Cornish thought something might be wrong with his four-legged friend Hank the Goat, when he rested under a pigeon coop instead of coming to Cornish to eat.
But Cornish didn’t give it too much thought on Sunday night since Hank, who tends to be stubborn, has many shades to his personality. Whether he’s barging into corner stores in search of potato chips or stealing grapes off an arabber’s horse-drawn produce cart, his antics came much more often than not.
On his last night, Cornish simply patted his buddy on the head and they parted ways for the night.
The next morning, young kids who clean the stables on South Carlton Street made the troubling discovery: Hank was dead at the age of 6. Cornish, who also works at the stables, said he’s unsure what caused the death of his black and white Nubian goat, but it’s an outsized loss for his community and the city at large.
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Even though the stables are in Southwest Baltimore, Cornish and Hank treated all of Baltimore like their stomping grounds.
“I’m gonna miss that goddamn goat,” said Cornish, “He done travelled the whole Baltimore city with me.”
It’s safe to say that many enjoyed seeing Hank coming, but were sure to get out of his way as he passed. He could be unpredictable, but let those he liked scratch his head if they caught him on his impromptu strolls with or without Cornish.
The stable in the Hollins Market neighborhood is where Cornish and Hank shared a lot of early mornings together as much of Baltimore slept. When Cornish wasn’t around at the stables, which takes up a small space in an alleyway, Hank was in the company of horses, a big pig named Charlotte and a couple of other goats.
Hank was both needy and always hungry, head-butting an old pool table when he wanted attention or stealing food from unexpecting kids and adults alike.
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Maybe his insatiable hunger could be traced back to his early years when Cornish and others bottle-fed him like a human newborn after Cornish brought him home from Pennsylvania six years ago.
To Cornish, having a 6-foot-long goat, who made his intimidating height known when he stood on two legs, was “like having a friend around.”
Hank acted like Cornish’s second shadow, but wasn’t always friendly; Cornish had a busted lip or two to prove it. He built much of his reputation around being a playful bully, nudging people up rowhouse steps, picking fights with other animals and people or chasing them.
Longtime arabber Charles McLean plans to remember Hank as a headstrong and distinctive fixture.
“Everybody in the neighborhood knew Hank,” he said. “That goat was something.”
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People all across Baltimore have spotted him. During a walk last summer, several men near the B&O Railroad Museum shouted out at Hank as the goat and Cornish walked up Pratt Street, saying they saw him on television.
A few years ago, Hank walked up Washington Boulevard wearing a fedora along with a lady goat named Jill. The viral outing inspired a local dark stout beer by Pickett Brewing Company called “Goats in Hats.”
The Baltimore Banner posted a video about Cornish and Hank in September and comments flooded in with people wanting to volunteer at the stables and meet the funny and mischievous goat.
Days before his death, Cornish said he filmed Hank lying down in an alley hanging out, waiting for someone to challenge him or play. Now, Cornish plans to let out some of his trained pigeons as a tribute to honor his longtime, irreplaceable friend.
“He lived a good life. He enjoyed his life when he was with us,” Cornish said.
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