goat watch : coming soon to a neighborhood near you
We went crazy for goats whenever traveling herds are brought into town to clear overgrown terrain, but what about tiny goats in our back yards and on sidewalks? The Seattle Times reports that city council member Richard Conlin is working to make goats the new Chihuahuas. Based on their “friendliness, faithfulness and hardy constitution” and a role in “sustainability”, he thinks that the good people of Seattle should have the right to keep minigoats as licensed house pets.
O.K., so at 50+ pounds, they won’t fit in a purse as a Tinkerbelle-esque fashion accessory, but what about this:
Although goats can be trained to walk on leashes, they would have to be confined to an owner’s property or other property where permission has been given for the minigoats to roam. That way, [legislative assistant Phyllis] Shulman said, they won’t eat neighborhood or park plants.
…
Minigoats are friendlier than dogs, said [National Pygmy Goat Association president Ray] Hoyt, who lives in Minden, Nev. “They wag their tails and come and meet you, and they know their names.” [times]
Among the downsides, there is the musky smell of the unneutered male goat. What do you think — will you be the first in line to get a pair once they’re legal or will you be up front at the public hearing on 18 September trying to stop the minigoat menace from invading our city?
(via the seattle livejournal community [#])
I think the reason for them to get passed as pets is that so people can keep them on their properties to take care of the blackberry bushes and whatnot. The University of Washington has been using them all summer for this purpose and is thinking about having a herd for themselves. The problem is that they aren’t legal to have living within city limits. A ordinance like this would let them do it.
Man, goats can fix anything!
I fully support anything that might promote people taking their tiny goats on walks around the neighborhood.
if only the UW had its own herd of goats, imagine the ensuing collegiate pranks.
it might be worth it though: spotting ducks on campus lawns is cute enough, but an entire herd of pygmy goats grazing on the quad would be surreal.
If you want to see them you can go to the UW Bothell Campus. They are currently grazing there. My wife said that they are pretty darn cute.