‘They’ll go to anything that’s green’: Goats’ owner speaks up after viral video shows animals boarding bus
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - The mystery behind two goats that recently tried to catch a TriMet bus in Southeast Portland may be solved.
Rae Anderson said his 7-month-old goats, Billy the Kid and Billy the Goat, escaped their backyard Tuesday morning and went exploring.
“They probably had enough to eat and said, ‘Let’s keep on going,’” Anderson said.
Their adventure led them around the corner to a TriMet bus stop at Southeast 162nd Avenue and Division Street, where the goat brothers apparently decided to take public transportation.
At 7:40 a.m., TriMet’s cameras captured the pair hopping onto an FX2-Division bus.
Their attempted ride lasted about 20 seconds. Two passengers ushered them off before the bus moved.
According to TriMet, someone called 9-1-1 to report the wandering goats.
Anderson didn’t realize the goats were missing at first. He said he learned on Facebook that the goats had hitched a ride home with a passerby.
Then came the social media fame.
TriMet posted a clip of the “goated” stunt, which has surpassed 3 million views.
“We’re thrilled that the goats have returned to their human family,” TriMet spokesperson Tyler Graf told FOX 12. “Even though their attempted trip on TriMet was foiled, ending before it started, we’re honored that they chose the FX2-Division - Frequent Express. They proved that it’s the G.O.A.T. of our bus service.”
Anderson said his family has had Billy the Kid and Billy the Goat for about three months. The goats have visited neighbors’ yards before, but this was their first trip to the bus stop.
He said his children sometimes accidentally leave the gate open.
“They’re smart, so they’ll see the gate and, if there’s an opportunity and someone didn’t shut it right, they’re going through,” Anderson said. “And they’ll go to anything that’s green.”
The family has since added an extra lock and chain to the gate, hopefully putting an end to the goats’ public transit ambitions.
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