animals

Buckle up, because this story is about to take you on an outrageous, bonkers, and absolutely adorable ride. Dae'lan Scott, a resident of a neighborhood in west Detroit, was just minding his own business when a very energetic goat began chasing him. He screamed a high-pitch squeal, which many commenters have described as the "screams of a lady," while seeking higher ground atop the roof of a car.

And the whole thing was caught on video surveillance camera. Reporter Jessica Dupnack shares the coverage on the Fox 2 Detroit Instagram page with the comment, "Pet goat runs loose in Detroit, forcing a 20-year-old man to leap onto his car for safety, in a now-viral video."

What happened was this: Dae'lan Scott spotted the goat, whose name we now know is Smokey (AKA Smoke), and believed it was charging at him. When Dupnack mentioned to him that a "lot of people thought it was a woman screaming," he laughed and said, "It scared the female out of me. Know what I'm saying?"

She reports that Dae'lan and his brother "Jupiter Star" (noting that's not his real name) were both pretty freaked out by the incident. Jupiter points out that he stayed safe while keeping an eye out. "Just looked through the window making sure he was okay." Then he adds a real West Side Story element, "And my mom running outside with a knife. But she's so scared of animals."

Dupnack shares, "With mom's help, Dae'lan made it inside their west side Detroit home." And when Jupiter is asked what he thought was going on with Smokey he theorizes, "The goat trying to hump us!"

herd of goats just hanging out. Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

But the story is far from over. Just down the street is a vegetarian café called The Psychedelic Healing Shack (because of course it is). Owner Robert Pizzimenti, AKA Dr. Bob, shares, "I kinda look like a goat. But you know, they're just gentle creatures. And they're biblical. And they're very healing." The Fox reporter adds "The 'doc' took in Smokey and Perfect and Angel." Of them, he says, "If it were up to me, they might be in the house, but my wife's not going for that."

Now the story does have Detroit on high alert regarding the proper paperwork to own goats or other "wild" animals, and Pizzimenti is reportedly working on obtaining the permits. But here's, quite possibly, the best part of the whole ordeal: The brothers, Dae'lan and "Jupiter," are now buddies with the goats. Dae'lan tells the outlet, "Smokey, here, is a neighborhood favorite" as he pets the silly, wild-eyed, precious little goat.

The comments are equally as hilarious and heartwarming. One Instagrammer writes, "Smokey is doing his best to look non-threatening and FAILING spectacularly." Another adds, "Omg the screaming, the mom, the knife, the old hippie. It’s all great!" And quite possibly the most perfect comment ever: "Mom brought a knife to a goat fight!"

According to a website dedicated to all things "goat," (aptly called Goat Journal), writer and animal welfare advocate Tamsin Cooper highly stresses that, like most beings, goats have individualized personalities. "Anyone who has spent time with a goat herd will notice the different individual personalities of herd members. We may characterize our goats as shy, nervous, curious, affectionate, or aggressive, for example. Some show more or fewer of each trait than others."

In the case of Smokey, it seems like he was just curious as to what Dae'lan was all about. Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.