ALTAMONT — David Funk, who judges goat shows all across the country, will have goats from his Westerlo herd compete at the Altamont Fair.

One of his goats, Paisley Print, has been selected as the representative of her breed in an internationally-recognized event, showcasing the best animals of various breeds. Paisley, as Funk calls her, is a five-month-old Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat. He named her for the white, black, and brown swirls on her coat.
"When I call her by name, she comes to me," Funk said.

Her breed, developed in Africa, is half the size of a standard goat; a doe weighs 60 to 70 pounds as opposed to 150 to 200 pounds.
"They’re the size of a Labrador retriever," said Funk.
In fact, Funk describes a goat show as "a cross between a cow show and a dog show."

It’s like a cow show, he said, because the judges look at conformation, at physical characteristics like how well-connected and shapely an udder is.

It’s like a dog show, he said, because goats are more willing than cows to be handled; competitors lead their goats in a circle for a judge to assess.
Funk has bred goats since the early 1960s, when he lived in Norwich in Chenango County. "Even then, I showed every year at the Altamont Fair," he said.

Funk has shown his goats for 31 consecutive years in Altamont.

Since the 1970s, he has been one of the country’s premier dairy goat judges. The licensing process is rigorous and there are fewer than 125 licensed judges in the country, he said. Funk has traveled to 46 states to judge.
"I enjoy judging," he said. "I like educating the public about the animals and helping the breeders improve their animals."
A judge has to give specific reasons for every placement, he said, "all the way down to 27 or 28."

Funk moved to Westerlo in 2002 when his wife got a job as the elementary school librarian at Berne-Knox-Westerlo. Funk has retired from a 39-year career as a sixth-grade teacher. But now, in addition to raising goats, he coaches wrestling and modified track at BKW.
"We use goats’ milk at home, mostly for cooking," he said. He also drinks goats’ milk and occasionally makes cheese with it.
"It should taste like cows’ milk if they’re fed the same way," said Funk, adding, "Individual cow’s milk can have a distinctive taste but with the commercial herds, where most people get their milk from, it all gets mixed together."

Paisely is not one of the ordinary mix.

She has been selected by the American Dairy Goat Association for its annual National Spotlight sale, which attracts an international audience of buyers.

This year’s sale will be held in Fort Collins, Colo. in the fall.

Paisely was selected because of the outstanding milk production and show records of her mother, Does-Sy-Does Ariel, and her excellent conformation.

Does-Sy-Does Ariel, who will also compete at the Altamont Fair, was five times Grand Champion and Best of Breed and once Best in Show. So far this year, she has been shown five times and has been Grand Champion and Best of Breed four times with three shows to go.

Paisley Print has been shown five times and has been Junior Champion twice and Reserve Junior Champion twice.
Paisely’s father was a buck whose mother was "an outstanding milk producer," said Funk. Within Paisely’s pedigree, both her grandmother and her great-grandmother were national production champions. It is unusual to have a goat that has in her lineage both star milk producers and conformation champions, Funk said.
For the Spotlight Sale, Funk said, "They select the strongest genetically to advertise nationally."

The auction itself takes place at a champagne breakfast and the opening bid is $1,500, he said.
Asked if it would make him sad to part with his goat, Funk said, "I’ll still have her twin sister, her mother, and her father. Selling her at the Spotlight Sale, you know she’ll go to a place where she’s cared for"
"It’s the pinnacle," he concluded. "It puts you in the top four or five breeders in the country."