I need advice about this goat pull toy

[RSherman]

Yesterday, I found this most adorable baby goat in an eclectic store filled with all sort of new and old odds and ends. I will attach an image of a similar one I found online.

The shop owner claims the goat would have been a child's pull toy from the 1800s. It looks more like a baby goat. Unlike the image I found of a billy goat with beard and horns. The one I found is brown with an adorable white stripe. Its hooves are on small metal wheels. It has the bell around its neck and a pull ring under its belly. When pulled, the goat makes a bleating sound.

The shop owner says it's taxidermy. She stroked its back and said "can't you feel its bones?". I know taxidermy and this would be awfully well preserved for the 1800s. Most of the examples I found online are made of mohair which would make more sense.

Anyway, I love the little thing but she wants $400. With no paperwork or document associated, would I be crazy to pay that? Thanks for any advice!

[link:https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328973947755835127/|

[marble falls]

1. Buying it for yourself or resale?

[RSherman]

2. Buying for myself

[marble falls]

4. It's not a bad retail price. It's a skin on a taxidermist form. It's a very nice decorator item.

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Unless I am badly mistaken, there are no bones in a stuffed animal.

[SergeStorms]

5. That's always been my experience...

with taxidermy. Bones, organs, everything removed and the pelt or skin is stretched over a pre-fabricated, or custom-made form, for that animal type.

I've never come across any taxadermied piece that had bones in it. That's ridiculous.

[cyclonefence]

6. But do you really know that there are bones in this one?

"Can't you feel its bones?" wouldn't be enough for me to assume there were bones and not some kind of metal framework in there--maybe to make it strong enough for a child to sit on?

I'm not a collector, only a watcher of Antiques Roadshow, and I think the goat pictured is adorable. If I wanted it, and I had $400 to spend I'd buy it. As a normal lay person, I don't think $400 is such a bad deal.

[Marthe48]

7. Could you get a picture of the one in the shop?

If the picture you linked to is so different from what you saw, it is kind of hard to offer an opinion. The one in the link is 14" long, I think it says.

[RSherman]

8. Thank you, everybody!

I really appreciate all of your comments/expertise!

The more I think about it, I think (hope) the shop owner was asking "can you feel its bones" tongue in cheek. Sometimes I find it hard to read people.

It would not be large enough for a child to sit on. It's the size of a baby goat and would be a pull toy.

I will try to get back there to take a pic. The shop might be seasonal--they were open for a Christmas Holiday Weekend event. Wish I had given the woman my contact info.!

In the end, those of you who wrote if I have $400, just buy it--I agree!