Goat Decorated With Viking Colors, Stuffed in Trunk of Minnesota Car

Sometimes, a story has to be read multiple times before you believe its contents. Even then, all you can do is shake your head.

Such is the case with this news out of Winona, Minn., a city in southeastern Minnesota a bit more than 100 miles from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It's there that a normally mundane day at the local Tires Plus was interrupted by the cries of a small goat coming from the trunk of a car. It appears someone had a bit too much fun with the news of Brett Favre signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

Let's allow the guy from Tires Plus, a gentleman named James Prusci, to tell the story.

A woman came into the Tires Plus in Winona just before noon, asking if the shop had time to replace a belt.

Prusci started the paperwork.

"Oh, by the way," the woman said. "I have a goat in my trunk."

Prusci didn't think he heard her right.

"A what?"

"Yes, a goat," the woman said. "And it's alive."

She planned to butcher the animal later but was passing through Winona on her way to St. Paul when the car broke down, Prusci remembered her saying.

... After about 10 minutes, they could hear the goat crying.

"We cracked open the trunk, you know, so it could breathe," Prusci said. "And sure enough, there it was. It kind of poked its head up."

The goat had been painted purple and gold - the colors for the Minnesota Vikings. Shaved into its side was the No. 4 - the number of Brett Favre, who made his Vikings debut Friday night in a preseason game in the Twin Cities.

Of course, we don't know the most important detail.

Why?

Is this the work of a diabolical, overzealous Green Bay Packer fan? Perhaps a Viking fan a bit too excited by the news? Has someone confused the legendary Cubs jinx for that of the Vikings?

Worse yet, is this just a coincidence? Is there a farm somewhere in Minnesota that colors goats and shaves numbers into their sides as a means of identification?

In case you're wondering, the goat involved was removed from the trunk and taken to a local veterinarian for some care. No word on whether the owner of the car is facing any trouble for hauling a live, decorated goat around southern Minnesota.

(The random goat pictured above is not known to have been harmed in any way.)

(Head-butt: The Big Lead)