Help keep Stanley the goat with Jo-Anne

Stanley is a one year old goat who is the trusted companion of Jo-Anne Miller. She rescued him when he was 6 weeks old from a dairy farm, where he was found in a field abandoned by his mother. He was also rejected by the other farm animals, and lost parts of his ears to frostbite. He had all the odds stacked against him and likely would’ve been slaughtered had Jo-Anne not saved him. Since he came into her home, they have been the best of friends and do everything together. They live in Tiny Township off the shores of beautiful Georgian Bay, and are well known and loved in their community. Stanley is a joy to be around, and Jo-Anne takes excellent care of him.

 

Jo-Anne received an unsolicited visit from a Tiny Township bylaw officer on May 7th and informed her that a complaint about Stanley had been filed by someone in the community. The township took this complaint about Stanley and accused Jo-Anne of operating a hobby farm on her property (which isn’t zoned to run a hobby farm), and that she had until May 30th to get rid of Stanley or face a $25,000 fine. Jo-Anne has been extremely stressed out over this because simply sending Stanley to live on another farm isn’t a good choice, as he wasn't accepted by other farm animals and doesn’t have horns so therefore he cannot defend himself against predators or even other goats. He has also been domesticated like a dog and no longer understands that he is a goat.  Apart from whoever complained, everyone else in the community is concerned for the well being of both Jo-Anne and Stanley and no one wants to see him leave. This would have devastating consequences for the both of them. Jo-Anne even has a doctors note that states Stanley is her emotional support animal who aids with her depression, but the township won’t accept it. The township is saying the only thing that can be done to keep Stanley is apply for her property to be re zoned. This is a very lengthy and expensive process- the application alone is $4,000 plus there is an additional fee of $1,000 for a non refundable deposit. She would also need an updated survey of her property which would also cost thousands of dollars. We are also considering other options to challenge the township on this matter, but none of them are free and also cost quite a bit of money. The latest update we have received from the township is that they will give us until July 29th to submit an application.  Anything you choose to donate will go directly to getting these applications ready for submission. 

Thank you for your support! Jo-Anne and Stanley are grateful for everyone’s contributions!