Sadly, it is an end to an era for families who love counting the Sears Road rock quarry's goats as they drive north of Cottage Grove, Oregon! After 40 years, the famous freeway-hill climbers were rehomed to keep them alive! The eight animals are with experienced goat herder, Michelle, happily mingling and
munching with their new goat family on her fenced 50-acre ranch. Boy, have they moved up in the world! The ranch's amenities include fresh running water, trees, hills and their favorite snack, of course, blackberries.
The blackberries were their downfall. After consuming all the berries near the rock quarry, the herd smelled the delicious aroma of more on the other side of the freeway.
Being adventuresome and hungry goats, they
strolled through a hole in the fence, and began eating the blackberries beside I-5 freeway stopping 70 mph traffic. The department of transportation arrived and erected a GOATS ON HIGHWAY reader board sign to warn drivers.
After the police were summoned for the third time in a week, they phoned the quarry with an ultimatum. "The goats are endangering traffic. The next time they are on the interstate they will be dispatched." This statement began a desperate hunt to
find the famous bearded-quarry squatters a new home.
Tina Fornoff, a.k.a. FORNOFF ROCKS LLC, posted a note to Facebook's "What's Going On In Cottage Grove, Oregon" relating the urgency of the situation.
"Then the circus began!" said Tina. "An hour later, 15 people arrived with trailers trying to round up goats. It was mayhem. Eventually, the goats outsmarted everyone by climbing the steep hillside.
The next day, I tried corralling the herd into a hastily-rigged pen. What a fiasco! The goats kept breaking through, tearing down, or jumping over the pen. I sat for six hours bribing them to return to their favorite foods but to no avail.
Just as the quarry was closing and after I'd left, the goats arrived for their smorgasbord of alfalfa and veggies, so I rushed back. Thankfully the rock pit crew had corralled the herd. The crew each
grabbed a goat directing them into the trailer. It was a joke thinking that once one was in the trailer the others would follow. The goats had never been in a trailer and they did not think it was time to start now.
After the young kids were loaded up, their mothers followed. Dozer saw this and jumped over the four foot panels onto a conveyor belt system, chased a few people around, and
then took off up the hillside. Everyone scattered trying to avoid the 500 pound horned leader!
There was no way for us to scale the hillside and GRAB him. For the next week, he remained elusive looking at us like we were circus clowns. We finally outsmarted him by tempting him with a "new" girlfriend. Our she-lure worked! He could not resist meeting her. We slammed the gate closed and delivered him to his waiting herd."
"Dozer
casually walked over to his old herd," said Michelle. "He was friendly and gentle with all of our other goats. He was a gentleman and let some goats cut in front of him to eat first. This was unlike his pit behavior where he insisted on eating first. I am happy to report that your freeway goats are very happy here."
"A 90-pound cougar is visiting the quarry, so the timing of the goat's removal is perfect," said Tina. "Drivers along I-5 freeway who have been
watching them need to know that ‘your' goats are safe and so are you. You can't have a herd of animals meandering across a freeway amongst speeding semi-trucks and family cars without an ‘OH! OH!' We hope they will now live a long life.”
