Posted on 11/04/2005 12:50:03 PM PST by Cagey
MILFORD, Ohio - The family of a 12-year-old boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has filed a federal lawsuit fighting the removal of two pet goats that the boy uses for therapy.
David Valentine plays with the goats - jumping with them on a trampoline in the backyard of his parents' house - and even lets them inside to watch television.
But officials in Miami Township in Clermont County, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati, say the goats violate zoning codes. Neighbors also have complained about the goats.
Patty Valentine, David's mother, said the family would have to move, which it can't afford to do, if David can't continue living with the goats.
The Valentines, with the help of a Columbus-based advocacy group for people with disabilities, filed a federal lawsuit this week. The Ohio Legal Rights Service argues that it's against the law to discriminate against a handicapped person by denying him a dwelling.
The family has a lot of animals on its property: dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, turtles, a parrot and a gerbil. An electric fence keeps all the animals in. But only the goats help David manage his disorder, his mother said.
David, a seventh-grader in the Milford school district, keeps his grades up because he knows he doesn't get to play with or take care of the goats unless he does well in school, his mother said.
David said the goats - a 2-year-old caramel pygmy and an 18-month-old American Alpine - motivate him more than the other pets because they're like a kid with ADHD.
"They don't really listen very well," said David, a seventh-grader in the Milford school district. "That's kind of like me."
The township has summoned the family to court Nov. 17 to try to enforce its zoning code.
"If you live in a subdivision, if you buy a house, do you want goats in your neighbor's backyard?" asked Township Administrator David Duckworth.
My wife has had this weird thing about goats since we visited a friend's house in the country a few years ago.
They had some goats and she thought they were the coolest things she ever saw. She decided she wants a couple.
We can't really get one now because we have a Boxer who is friendly to the point of psychosis and would probably drive the poor goat to suicide goading it to play all the time.
I had a pet goat for a time. We were goatsitting 'cause she lost her mama.
That was an amazing animal. So friendly and animated. She wanted to play all the time. She was so *intelligent*.
I can't believe a small goat or two would make that much more of a mess than dogs.
It's just idiot SNOBBERY.
So what you're saying is that the annoyed neighbors ought to be demanding that this family acquire MORE goats. Please, please, won't you volunteer to show up at the court proceeding for this silliness and testify as to this remarkable phenomenon? It would raise the amusement factor to a most excellent level :-)
What's any different than having a Great Dane, Great Pyranese, Newfie, etc..... all are big, all eat a lot, all poop, but I bet goat poop doesn't smell as bad as our dog poop because they eat vegetable matter.
Goats are far cleaner than dogs, and keep the yard mowed. They especially love noxious weeds. Here in Colorado, goats are even being used by the Forest Service to rid mountain meadows of foreign weeds that spread at the expense of native plants. And their pellets can be composted with the fall leaves, because they are herbivores, which cannot be said for "town" pets. Plus they are friendly. We kept dairy goats, but had one little cashmere goat as a pet. They are about the size of pygmys. She thought she was a member of the family, and loved playing with the kids. I miss those goats ...
"but I bet goat poop doesn't smell as bad as our dog poop because they eat vegetable matter.
"
Oh, I guarantee it doesn't smell that bad. Doesn't really smell all that much at all, and is excellent fertilizer.
"And their pellets can be composted with the fall leaves,"
When they're dry, they make excellent slingshot ammo too, as I remember.
Lovely critters, goats. Tasty, too, if you get right down to it, although you wouldn't want to eat a pet one.
Cabrito -- great after being smoked for at least 12 hours over mesquite coals.
Therapy? B.S. Just like ADHD
I wish I had a couple of goats. I always make a special trip to look at them at the fair. They are just the best.
I like the Nubian goats with their floppy ears, but they are all cool. I've got a place for them too -- 12 acres & a shelter. I just don't have the time. And they need a special fence. They'll climb over an ordinary fence.
"And they need a special fence. They'll climb over an ordinary fence.
"
Indeed they will. And they'll climb on your car, on your boat, on your shed, and on anything they can get up on. They do need to be penned, I think, although I know some folks who let them run relatively freely, putting up with the climbing thing.
The woman I mentioned earlier once made the mistake of leaning a ladder against her house. When she got back from shopping, one of her goats was on the roof.
They're interesting critters, though, and fun to be around, as long as they're thoroughly used to being around humans. They can be friendly...sometimes too friendly.
I like goats.
yeah the only thing that smells bad on a goat is if it a buck, or it is August and thay are sweating that stinks.
The goats are probably the only pets that can take the "beating" the kid gives them.
Kind of like having your own punching bag that also follows you around.
A farmer near me keeps goats and he has built all kinds of climbing apparatus for them. You'll be driving by on the highway and see them way up high, watching all the cars go by. Makes me laugh every time.
Mine do fine with chain link. Let me know if you change your mind.
You have just about convinced me to get a goat or two. I have 40 acres, Siberian Huskies, Manx cats, wild turkeys, coyotes, deer (white tail and mulies), wolves, mountain lions, and the occasional black bear........and no neighbors to complain. I figure the goats could chomp down the tall weeds and grass so that I could get a good bead on the wolves and lions. They just get plumb bothersome at times.
Thanks for the advice. (and I'm not kidding)
I have a feeling this might be the problem:
"The family has a lot of animals on its property: dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, turtles, a parrot and a gerbil."
Plus an ADD kid and a trampoline. And goats.
I hope they have a really big yard. I have two large dogs and they wreck everything. The only reason my neighbors tolerate me is because they've already chased off at least one burglar.
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