No Goats for Now

Scott Wardle has been very kind in helping me to understand the process and help me get the information I was proposing into the hands of the chairman, Dave McCall. Unfortunately, the goat issue won't be put on the agenda at this time. Most of the council agreed not to take it on.

It's really a bigger issue than just goats. Because if they legalize miniature goats, the concern is about what's next. The city has been approached by many people about making changes that would allow animals that are not currently legal to own. So in order to take on this issue, it will have to be examined in the big picture, considering other animals, how big they are, appropriate lot sizes, and so forth. The current chairman doesn't want to take this on.

However, I am not giving up. What now?

We continue to collect signatures on our petition. After the first of the year we will try again. We need as many signatures of Tooele City Residents as possible. I've found that most people are happy to sign my petition. I would say 99% say yes. Many of them would never own a miniature goat, but don't care if their neighbor does.

Anybody want to help collect signatures?

Then and Now

In my search for pictures to support my proposal I came across one of my yard the year we had the goat. I'm inspired by it now. I guess I forgot how good it looked with all those lovely tomatoes growing and the weeds being fed to the goat.

Then I found these pictures I took of the deer in the same yard this year. It's later in the year, but you will see why I'm inspired by the other picture. I wonder if my garden will ever look that good again. I sure miss the goats and chickens.

The Magic of Babies

At some point in our short association with Ms. Billy I looked at her and wondered what was going on with her udders. They were filling up and she was starting to produce milk. The funny thing was that I even took her to the animal clinic where they asked if she could be pregnant. 

"Nah," I told the vet. "Couldn't be," I told myself.

But then started noticing how she was more round in the middle. It dawned on me where she had been before she was given to us. She was one of two goats that had been picked up on the streets of Tooele. The other was male. They were in the same pen. Once I thought that through, I realized there was a real possibility of her being pregnant.

As I watched, I became more convinced by the day, and watched her more closely. One night something clued me in that she might be close (I don't even remember what now). But I checked on her the first thing next morning.

Other than my wedding day and the births of my children there are two events in my life that are more magical than any other. The first time I saw fireflies and the the morning I laid my eyes on those baby goats. I'll tell you, it was like magic.

From that day forward my kids wanted to spend every moment in that goat pen loving those babies. I could hardly get them to come in the house. Of course I was usually out there with them. They thought they were so clever to name the babies Annie Oakley and Billy the Kid.

As magic as that day was, the day that followed was devastating. I remember just as vividly, opening that door to man appointed to deliver the notice that informed us that we could not keep the goats. After he left, I sobbed. I don't remember when I finally brought myself to tell the children. I just remember feeling like somebody had yanked my moment of magic harshly from beneath my feet.

Goats Compared to Other Pets

Many in Tooele City residents would argue that goats make better pets than dogs. This is an opinion. But because many cities have chosen to change the definition of goats from “farm animals” to pets, Ive included the following information in the packet I will submit to the city. It shows one reason why the definition of goats is shifting from "farm animal" to "pet".

Comparing Size

A Pygmy goat weighs half as much as a Saint Bernard. A Nigerian Dwarf goat weighs in at about the same as a Greyhound. Even a Nubian goat, which is not considered a miniature breed, weighs less than a Great Dane.

Many of the cities who have changed their ordinances to allow goats have added a weight limit to the wording of the ordinance. The following charts show two things. 1) Many large dog breeds compare to or outweigh many goat breeds. 2) Tooele City could easily apply a weight limit to the ordinance and allow goats that are much smaller than the dogs allowed in the city.

Weights of Various Breeds of Goats

Breed	Male (in pounds)	Female (in pounds)
Alpine	170	135
Anglo-Nubian	175	135
Angora	180-225	70-110
Appenzell	145	100
Boer	110-135	90-100
Brown Shorthair	140-190	120-140
Don	155	80
LaMancha	150	130
Nigerian Dwarf	75	75
Nubian	175	135
Pygmy	75	50
Saanen	145	110
Toggenberg

Sources:

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/goats/

http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/goat/factsheet/breeds.htm

http://www.raising-goats.com/raising-nubian-goats.html

http://www.ndga.org/about.html

http://www.ibna.ro/arhiva/AZ%2011-4/AZ%2011-4%2003%20Pesmen%20%20Yardimci.pdf

http://www.goats4h.com/GoatsHome.html

Weight of Various Breeds of Large Dogs

Breed	Weight (in pounds)
Akita	75-120
Alaskan Malamute	75-100
Belgian Sheepdog	50-75
Bloodhound	80-110
Great Pyrenees	85-125
Greyhound	55-75
Irish Wolfhound	100-130
Labrador Retriever	50-75
Great Dane	110-160
German Shepherd	60-100
Newfoundland	120-160
Old English Sheepdog	80-100
Rottweiler	80-130
Saint Bernard	120-180

Source:

http://www.dog-breed-facts.com/Breeds/a-breed-list.html