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Summerland's famous goat guy says he won't be back in Kelowna after bylaw run-in

When he started to make his way to the nearby Tim Hortons to buy the goats a bagel as a treat, a Kelowna bylaw officer had other ideas.
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Greg Kauter with his three miniature silky fainting goats at City Park in Kelowna in June, 2023.

The famous goat guy says he'll never bring his miniature silky fainting goats back to Kelowna after a run-in with a bylaw officer at a downtown coffee shop.

"We're never going to return," said Greg Krauter, who typically receives the rock star treatment everywhere he goes.

Krauter said he was downtown in Stuart Park on Oct. 6 with his goats, as he has times in the past. Many people were taking pictures and asking questions.

When he started to make his way to the nearby Tim Hortons to buy the goats a bagel as a treat, a Kelowna bylaw officer had other ideas.

The bylaw officer refused Krauter's explanation that he always takes the adorable goats into shops. Krauter said the officer stopped his entry to the shop and escorted him back to his truck.

"She wouldn't hear of it and walked me back like a criminal (following) behind me and all these people who were just taking pictures now think I've done something wrong."

Krauter, who lives in Summerland, says he travels all over the Okanagan and he has never had an issue before, "I carry plastic bags and a broom and shovel to clean up after them, but she wasn't having any of it."

The bylaw officer cited Krauter for not having his goats on a leash, but did not issue him a ticket.

"They're not aggressive, they don't bark, nothing. They're trained, they stay right at my feet and never step in front of me… And I'm not here every day. It's been four months, five months. I come up for an hour and leave again," Krauter said.

The City of Kelowna bylaw department is typically complaint driven, but it's not clear if someone complained about the goats, or if the bylaw officer was operating on their own accord.

"They made me look like a criminal, we won't be coming back," says Krauter.