Saving the city, one goat at a time

It’s the last place you would expect to find a farm, but that’s what Jennie Grant has created in the backyard of her lovely home in Seattle’s Medrona neighborhood.

“4,100 square feet,” says Grant. “It’s smaller than your average city lot, I think.”

Her charming house sits on a quiet street. You can take in breathtaking views of Lake Washington through picture windows along the home’s back side. But if you take just a few steps down her terraced backyard, you will find yourself in the midst of an urban farm.

Grant says she never thought she liked goat milk, until she tasted some fresh from the animal. She says it’s much sweeter than the goat milk you buy at the store, perfect for cereal and making all kinds of cheeses.

In October of 2006, Grant bought her first two goats so she would always have some fresh milk on hand. Then, she found out it wasn’t legal to have the animals in the Seattle city limits.

It was an injustice that she couldn’t let go unchallenged. The “Goat Justice League” was formed, and successfully lobbied to legalize the animals in Seattle the following year.

Now, Grant and her Justice League are working with other cities who want to do the same.

“I try to get people to argue based on tolerance, like, why not let someone have goats if they want to have goats?” Grant says.

Surprisingly, cities like San Francisco and Portland have had no problem allowing goats, but the Justice League has run into some trouble in a lot of small towns, particularly in Texas.

“They want to be sophisticated,” says Grant. “They feel like goats would be unsophisticated.”

The success of their efforts in many big cities, like Seattle, is leading to some new challenges. Grant says she has noticed a goat obesity epidemic here. There was one backyard mini-goat that grew to about 150 pounds, 50 more than a healthy animal. They put her on a diet and exercise plan and have been able to get her weight under control.

Grant has just come out with her first book “City Goats”. Along with tips about the care and keeping of the animals, it includes a goat romance, advice about picking the best goat for your urban home, and the history of goats in the big city.

Around 1900, goats and other farm animals were legal in Seattle. Over the next 50 years, that slowly changed here and in cities around the country. Animals like cows, sheep and goats were taboo. Although, Grant notes dogs and cats were still allowed.

“We ended up with these rules that allowed animals as long as they were not useful.”

While the Goat Justice League doesn’t hold regular meetings anymore, you still might find a few of them gathered together from time to time watching the original Justice Leaguers – the Beverly Hillbillies.

“It’s really fascinating to see how flipped out everybody gets when they want to have a chicken or they want to plant a vegetable garden,” Grant laughs.

The Goat Justice League is still active online. You can find Grant’s book at local book stores and at Amazon.