Casino Taxi driver Mark Thurston has been behind the wheel of a cab for more than 30 years. But Tuesday night brought a call he's never gotten before — to pick up a baby goat travelling solo at the airport.

It turned out she was better behaved than some other fares he's had, Thurston said.

"She was very noisy at first, but I just turned the music on low and was talking to her and calming her down and she was fine for the half-hour drive," he said.

Grounded by weather

The three-month-old goat was travelling in the cargo hold on a WestJet flight from Halifax to St. John's, where her new owner was due to pick her up.

She was a Christmas present, destined to live out her days as a pet goat on a farm in Newfoundland.

But bad weather forced the plane to turn back to Halifax, and staff at the airport had a dilemma on their hands. What do they do with the goat until the next flight in the morning?

So they decided to send the goat — named Gidget — to the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic in Dartmouth.

Gidget the goat during her overnight stay at the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic in Dartmouth, N.S. (Metro Animal Emergency Clinic/Tom Jones)

Tom Jones of Rosehip Farms, who raised Gidget, had dropped her off at the airport but couldn't drive the four hours from his home in Freeport, N.S., to pick her up when her flight was delayed. He praised the cargo crew for going the extra mile to keep her safe and comfortable by arranging for her to spend the night at the clinic.

"This guy really went out of his way. He got her a cab and got her over there," said Jones. "He handled it amazingly."

At just 10 pounds, Gidget is small enough to fit in a pet carrier and needs to be fed by a bottle. Staff at the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic don't see many goat patients, so they spoke to Jones by phone to make sure she would be well-fed.

Jones said Gidget landed safe and sound in Newfoundland on Wednesday afternoon after her long, strange journey in the city.