Depending on how much of an animal lover you are, coming home to a herd of goats chilling out in your yard might or might not be a delightful surprise. For one North Carolina renter, it was more of the latter. Under the Reddit username Narrow-Tomatillo-350, the tenant posted on r/Renters, explaining that their landlord had allegedly deployed a squad of seven goats in their backyard. And according to the owner, “they’re doing maintenance.”
“Nobody told me anything,” remarked Narrow Tomatillo, who was evidently at a loss as to what to do with seven goats in their yard. They initially believed someone’s livestock accidentally wandered into their home, only to find out that the landlord had hired a company that uses goats to clear out overgrown vegetation. However, the landlord apparently failed to notify the tenant, leaving them overwhelmed by their backyard turning into a petting zoo enclosure.
“The company says they’ll be there for at least 5 days,” Narrow Tomatillo wrote, adding that the goats had already knocked over their flower pots. The issue is that OP says the backyard is in their lease, so suddenly having seven goats dumped there without warning didn’t feel right. “Landlord says it’s no different than sending someone over to mow the lawn,” they sighed.
Redditors Loved the Idea But Some Criticized the Landlord’s Lack of Communication
Reactions in the comments were mixed, to say the least. On one hand, plenty of people sided with Narrow Tomatillo, criticizing the landlord for having a bunch of rowdy animals just set loose on the leased property without any notice. One commenter questioned whether the hired company had anyone managing the goats. “Is someone checking on them regularly? Who are you supposed to contact if a goat escapes or there’s some kind of medical issue?” the user asked.
The rest of the commenters were delighted and even jealous that OP got to have goats in their backyard. “This is the least problematic problem I’ve ever seen on here! Goats!!!” exclaimed a user. “I wouldn’t be texting my landlord, I would be out back watching the goats like it’s live animal planet,” chimed in another. Several others praised the landlord for choosing an eco-friendly method of landscaping.
Besides the goats breaking Narrow Tomatillo’s property and the temporary electric fence set up without their say-so, one person wondered who would be cleaning up after the animals. “Are they going to pick up the poop?” the Redditor asked. Although some did say it might have been OP’s fault for not maintaining the backyard properly in the first place, there was no explanation as to whether the landlord or tenant is in charge of landscaping.
In the end, no one is saying that the goats were a bad idea, since Narrow Tomatillo did mention how the backyard really did need a trim with the foliage. North Carolina has had goats used as ‘lawn mowers’ for decades, after all. Still, the landlord could have informed the renter beforehand, so there wouldn’t have been a surprise group of goats waiting for them when they got home.
