County supervisor’s mini goats snatched from Bayer Farm in Santa Rosa

Two miniature goats that Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins and her family had just donated to Santa Rosa’s Bayer Farm were stolen overnight, Hopkins said Friday.

Hopkins, her husband, Emmett, and their two young daughters, Gillian and Addy, raised the goats from kids and donated them to the Roseland farm Wednesday, much to the delight of area children, Hopkins said.

LandPaths, the nonprofit that co-manages the agricultural-themed city park on West Avenue, previously kept goats on the 6-acre property but had to remove them when park construction began in 2015, she said.

Hopkins and her family donated the 1-year-old Nigerian dwarf goats - named Oakey Snowy and Calla Lily by her daughters - to help foster a connection to agriculture. Her husband, Emmett, works part time for LandPaths,

“As a family, we thought it would be a really nice thing to share our goats with the community,” she said. “It’s so sad that someone took that away.”

The family dropped the goats off Wednesday and said their goodbyes. Since her daughters, 3 and 5, raised them from babies, Hopkins said they planned to return soon.

“But when we went out bright and early this morning hoping to see or visit them, they were gone,” Hopkins said. “We were crushed.”

The lock to the sturdy enclosure had been smashed and the gate ripped open, she said.

A farmer who runs the LandPaths side of the park, where a large community garden is located, was responsible for the goats during the week, Hopkins said. A local v?olunteer who lives near the park was supposed to care for them on weekends.

“They didn’t even make it to a weekend,” she said.

The family filed a report with the Santa Rosa Police Department.

They also have posted a reward for $400 for information leading to the safe return of the goats, and are checking online sites to see if someone might try to sell them, Hopkins said.

The worst part is not knowing their fate, she said.

“You wonder if someone took them for food, or if someone took them on a dare,” she said. “I worry about their safety.”

The goats need alfalfa, vitamins and fresh water, and can’t just be left in the backyard, she said.

City officials said the 12-year partnership with LandPaths gave the nonprofit organization full control over the programs and agricultural buildings on the property.

“It sounds like it was a wonderful offering to bring to the community,” said Kristi Buffo, spokeswoman for the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department. “For them to have been there for such a short period of time, it’s just heartbreaking.”

Craig Anderson, executive director of LandPaths, said he had just signed the paperwork accepting the goats from the Hopkins Tuesday.

“All this happened really fast,” Anderson said. “It’s a sad thing, and we’re going to hopefully get to bottom of it.”

Before the city park was built, he said, a couple of mischievous neighborhood youth at times would let the previous goats out, and the animals would cause damage on the property. But volunteers tracked down the youth, who ended up performing some community service to replant some of the garden beds the goats tore up, he said he’s hoping for a similarly positive outcome to this more serious caper.

“We’re down but we’re not daunted,” Anderson said, “because having animals at the farm is really a great experience, especially for the kids.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @srcitybeat.