It's a devastating story. A little girl loved her pet goat more than anything, but California auction officials ended up killing and barbecuing the animal.
The auction got the law involved. California deputies took the pet goat away from the girl. It was later killed and barbecued. Fast forward two years later, and Shasta County is paying the girl and her family a $300,000 settlement. "Unfortunately, this litigation cannot bring Cedar home," Vanessa Shakib, an attorney representing the family said. "But the $300,000 settlement with the County of Shasta and Shasta County Sheriff's Office is the first step forward."
So what exactly happened? Well, the little girl formed an attachment to Ceda, a goat, in 2022. Her mother Jessica Long had bought the animal, and the nine-year-old spent every day feeding and caring for the animal.
Unfortunately, the family decided to enter the animal into the Shasta District Fair's junior livestock auction on June 24, 2022. The animals are auctioned off to be slaughtered and eaten. However, prior to the auction, the family changed their minds and tried to remove the animal off the ticket. Unfortunately, the auction declined and refused.
Got Your Goat
That's when the girl's mom stole the goat back. The auction got the police involved. Officers got a search warrant and seized the goat, turning it over to people who then killed and consumed Cedar. Ultimately, the county agreed to pay the family for their pain and suffering. But even now, the family doesn't know who ultimately killed the goat.
"Years later this case still has several unanswered questions," Shakib said. The lawyer says that officials have tried to conceal who was involved in the animal's death.
B.J. Macfarlane, livestock manager for the Shasta Fair Association, wrote in a text message to Shasta Fair Chief Executive Melanie Silva: "Kathy said ok but no one needs to know about this." They're referring to Kathie Muse,an organizer for the county's barbecue.
"U me and Kathy are only ones. It got killed and donated to nonprofit if anyone asks," Macfarlane added.
"We are a non profit," Silva responded with a laughing emoji.
Meanwhile, the county released an official statement.
"The County did nothing wrong, but we recognize the risk and cost involved in going to trial, and so we agreed to settle the case," Christopher Pisano, an attorney for Shasta County, said in an email to The Los Angeles Times. "We are happy to be moving on and putting this case behind us."
