Pet owner told ‘goat must go,’ city policy up for debate in Cottonwood Heights

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah – A pet predicament has caused city officials to step in, Jennifer Ford’s Pygme goat Pepper Paisley is a problem.

“They told me she had to go,” Ford said.

The pint-sized farm animal has called 2085 East Brant Lane home since Labor Day of 2017.

“I’d been wanting her, I got her at a petting zoo,” Ford said.

However, one neighbor didn’t want the animal there and filed a noise complaint in November 2017, tipping the city off that the goat was living in the backyard of Ford’s home. In January, police and animal control left a second notice on Ford’s garage door, and paid her a visit— telling her owning the pet goat was against the city ordinance, Ford said.

“She was in heat and wouldn’t stop crying one night. I didn’t know what to do, but then I did some research and realized I needed to get her fixed, since then she hasn’t made noise,” Ford said.

She’s asked the city to amend the ordinance to keep Paisley, a process that has taken months, she said.

“I went up the chain. I’m hoping to get the code changed. We definitely want to keep her, we love her,” Ford said.

Mike Johnson, Cottonwood Height city manager, said the city council has been doing some research and “exploring options,” comparing what other cities policies are, and will meet in a work session Tuesday, April 17, before a final vote is made “hopefully within a month,” he said.

Ford was told by city officials she can keep the goat until the decision is made by the city council.

She’s also hoping the city will add mini-pigs into the ordinance she’s pushing for, because she “knows people who have mini-pigs and wants them to stay too.”

The neighbor who made the noise complaint declined to speak with KSL TV.