The southern Oregon goat and its human parents are featured in a new video series streaming on Discovery+
Frankie looks at the lavender at the English lavender farm on Applegate. [Argosy Odyssey / Cate Battles]
Cate and Chad Battles, at their home in Applegate Valley, hang out with Frankie between trips. [Argosy Odyssey / Cate Battles]
Frankie takes a look around Bridgeport, California near a local hot spring.
A videographer films Frankie as he searches through the rocks. [Argosy Odyssey / Cate Battles]
Frankie looks set to speak into the microphone as she is filmed on the road. [courtesy photo]
Frankie is filmed on the Oregon coast. [Argosy Odyssey / Cate Battles]
A local goat that grabbed headlines and dazzled social media users with its penchant for travel at the height of the pandemic is one of four animals featured in a new series of Discovery+ streaming videos highlighting deep bonds that form between animals and their human counterparts.
“The Bond,” produced by Robert Downey Jr., began streaming July 14 on the Discovery+ Channel and its app.
Frankie the goat was not left behind by the hustle and bustle of a two-man film crew who spent a month following her and her friends, Cate and Chad Battles, on a recent road trip.
Frankie made headlines last year when she became an Instagram sensation for her travel photos across the US
To date, the goat, a Nigerian pygmy/na goat cross, has traveled about 60,000 miles across the country in a hand-painted vintage Airstream, been featured in People magazine—twice—and has more than 20,000 followers on Instagram.
Needless to say, having the Discovery Channel tag along for a road trip wasn’t too big of a deal, teased Frankie’s “mom” and head goat promoter Cate Battles.
Battles, who came to Southern Oregon in 2017 with her husband and the couple’s children from North Carolina, said she was approached about Frankie appearing in the TV series in January.
“Chad and I were doing a month-long tour of the Southwest and we were camping outside of Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. I got an Instagram message from a lady who said, ‘Hey, we’re doing a fun with the Discovery Channel and I love what you guys do, and I love your visuals.” We’re thinking you’d be a good fit for this next project,’” Battles recalled.
“We figured he probably would have reached out to hundreds of people and weeded people out, and they wouldn’t actually end up choosing us. We didn’t think much of it,” he said.
Battles, a professional artist, added: “But of course he contacted us again when we got back from our trip, and it was really happening.”
Film crews spent a month traveling with the trio and asked them not to change anything about the way they and Frankie live together. Cameras captured the couple and their goat at home in Applegate.
“They went there, first, to do some interviews and take some photos around the city. Then a month later they rented one of those RVs from Cruise America and followed us out west for a whole month,” Battles said.
“They said, ‘This is real life. Nothing is staged. Whatever you have planned for today, we’ll just follow you everywhere’”.
Frankie showed off some of his favorite spots, including the Painted Hills, Smith Rock, and the Oregon Coast, as well as bits of Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington.
A true dose of real life, during the trip, Frankie and her folks visited a special spot along the coast to scatter the ashes of her late best friend, the Battles’ much-loved dog and late companion of journey maggie
The couple shared the loss of the dog during part of their 45-minute episode.
Cate Battles said the episode was fun to help create and watch.
“We watched the episode and thought they did a really good job. The guys traveling with us were great, so it was like traveling with friends,” he said.
“Chad and I are pretty private people. We usually go days where we don’t see other humans, so it was an extra dynamic for us to have more people around while we’re traveling.”
Frankie, he noted, treated the film crew like any other fan.
“We don’t want the added fame to ‘get’ to her head…and she didn’t for the most part. She loved having everyone around her on set. She loves being the center of attention, and that just means lots of extra treats … and extra scratches,” Battles added.
For the series, Battles said that Frankie is the only animal in this part of the world.
In addition to the not-so-humble goat, the series highlights a cheetah, a dolphin and a kangaroo.
Although she wasn’t a big social media user before she started traveling with her husband and goat, Battles said Frankie brings so much joy to the couple they can’t help but share.
“It’s been great fun and we love sharing Frankie’s adventures with the world. She brings a lot of happiness to people, sharing the beautiful places we go. It’s just a joyous escape,” Battles said.
“I didn’t even have an Instagram account before I left North Carolina. The only reason I started it was so our friends, family and kids in Asheville could follow and see what we were up to.”
He added: “We never thought that other people we’ve never met before would want to see us travel with our goat… and now it’s famous.”
The show is only accessible with a Discovery+ subscription, but a free trial will give you access to the series.
Episode Trailer: tinyurl.com/2p9ym4ap
Frankie online: argosyodyssey.com/; instagram.com/argosyodyssey/
Contact Mail Tribune reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or bpollock@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.
