City council tells local girl she's got to get rid of pet pygmy goat

FEDERAL WAY -- Despite the best efforts of a 12-year-old girl, the Federal Way City Council voted to deny Ava Anissipour's request to keep a pygmy goat as a household pet.

By a vote of 6-1, the council declined a motion for the city's planning commission to pursue a code revision that would allow Ava to keep her goat, the Federal Way Mirror reported.

Anissipour and her two goats first made headlines in July when her family was cited by the city's animal services. Neighbors complained about the goats, specifically the odor and the noise that the two goats generated. One of the goats was designated as a service animal and allowed to stay on the family's property.

City code classifies goats as large domestic animals that require a minimum property size of 70,000 square feet, the Mirror reported. As a result of the code violation, one of the goats had to go.

Anissipour had addressed city leaders about why the city should allow each of her goats to "stay under one roof." She said that pygmy goats are herd animals who need to live in pairs. She also argued that goats behave better -- and smell better -- than most dogs.

At least two neighbors at the council meeting disagreed, and in the end the council voted to leave the city code unchanged.

"The neighbors have a right to enjoy their homes that they have bought and paid for... and not smell the terrible and offensive odor," councilmember Dini Duclos said, the Mirror reported.

For her part Anissipour, said,"Right now Juju is at a friend's house. We are going to keep fighting."