Authorities Respond to Call About a Screaming Woman, Find a Screaming Goat
NEED TO KNOW
- Deputies in Maine got an “urgent” call about a screaming woman, and they rushed to the scene
- There, they found a goat named Simon who loves to yell
- “I don’t know how to make a goat be quiet,” said Simon’s owner, Devon Hawes
A vocal goat alarmed the residents of a small town in Maine when its shrieks sounded like a cry for help.
The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office in Etna, Maine, responded to an “urgent report of a woman screaming” around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, per a statement from the police and local station WABI 5. After a team “raced” to the scene, officials didn’t find a person in distress — but rather a goat, who “seemed to have plenty to express.”
Simon, the Hawes’ family Nigerian dwarf goat at Oak Shade Farm, had been shouting into the void that a lot that day — a noise that sounded remarkably like a woman screaming — according to his owners.
“We had a visit from the Sheriff’s Department tonight. They received a report of a woman screaming for help, and while walking the railroad tracks, he traced the screams to our farm,” owner Devon Hawes wrote in a joint Facebook post with his wife. “We took him to the barn and introduced him to Simon. Case closed.”
“I don’t know how to make a goat be quiet,” Devon told WABI 5 and Local 12. “He gets everything he needs — food, love, all of the things. He’s just got a lot to say!”
Nigerian dwarf goats are one of two miniature goat breeds commonly found on U.S. farms. Goats like Simon often display “bi and tri-color combinations,” per The Livestock Conservancy, and can have horns. Nigerian Dwarf goats are also capable of producing substantial quantities of milk, making them ideal for producing butter.
The species is widely known for its “graceful appearance and gentle disposition,” the conservancy stated. It seems like Simon might be the black sheep of his goat species.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The sheriff’s office noted online that it can’t wait until the “unusual situation” is chronicled in the United Crime Reporting System, as the encounter made the on-site officials giggle.
“It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood,” Devon said, per both outlets. “It’s quiet, except for us!”
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples