Phyllis Anderson has jokingly referred to herself as “the GOAT,” (Greatest of All Time) since Oakmont brought in working goats two years ago to clear brush along the Allegheny River.
But the assistant borough manager wants residents to know that the goats’ escape from their enclosure this week was no laughing matter. She’s worried they could have gotten lost or hit by a car.
“That’s why we are strictly enforcing the borough code,” Anderson said.
Last month, council amended an ordinance to prohibit the feeding of wild animals and animals used for vegetation control. Violators are subject to fines of up to $600.
Goats love to interact with humans, she said, and tend to follow people who feed or pet them. That distracts them from their work and raises their chances of escape.
“There’s enough stuff for them to eat down there,” Anderson said.
According to Anderson, the breakout happened Monday after a woman petted one of the goats. Soon, she said, they pushed through a section of fence weakened by high waters and began following the woman and her dog.
By Tuesday morning, borough workers had lured all six goats back to their enclosure.
In spite of the hiccups, Oakmont residents are big fans of the goats, which not only have given the borough a second mascot, but have dramatically reduced unwanted vegetation.
Melinda Vetterly only has one complaint: People aren’t allowed to pet them. Besides that, she said, they’re a good thing for the borough, stating simply, “I like goats.”
Tom Knoll, another Oakmont resident, often walks the trail next to the goats and said he enjoys the clear view of the river they create.
“Everyone loves them, especially Guinness, the small one,” Knoll said. “They’re hard workers.”
From May until whenever the job is done, the goats roam the steep hillside, munching on invasive plants, with plenty of nap breaks. Goats sleep five hours a day in roughly 30-minute increments, according to Monica Shields, co-owner of Capricious LLC.
The McCandless-based company rents out about 100 goats to municipalities and private property owners in the area. It charges Oakmont about $3,000 a year for the service — much cheaper than using manpower, according to Anderson.
Capricious shifts their pen every six days or so along the riverfront to keep a fresh supply of edible plants for the herd, Shields said. That’s about half as long as it used to take.
The riverfront knotweed in the Edgewood neighborhood has been reduced from around 15 feet tall to just 4½, thanks to the goats. Knotweed is an invasive species that can choke out native plants if not kept under control.
But just because goats eat plants we consider weeds doesn’t mean they can eat anything, according to Shields.
“Goats are able to eat a lot of different types of vegetation, but there are some things they can eat that are mildly toxic,” Shields said. “Sometimes when people pull leaves off shrubs or trees and hand it to them, it might not be something that the goats can eat.”
Plus, she doesn’t want her goats slacking off.
“I want them to work,” Shields said. “I don’t want them to just be hanging at the fence, begging for treats.”
Jack Troy is a TribLive reporter covering the Freeport Area and Kiski Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on Penn Hills municipal affairs. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at jtroy@triblive.com.