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California’s Shasta County and its sheriff’s office will pay $300,000 to 9-year-old Jessica Long and her family as part of a compensatory award for the loss of her beloved pet goat, Cedar.

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Sheriff’s deputies captured the goat in 2022 while it was on a farm in Northern California. Cedar was later murdered, according to court documents. The family later filed a lawsuit against county officials, according to reports Washington Post.

The settlement, approved last Friday by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, is “the first step in moving forward for the Long family,” said the family’s attorney, Vanessa Shakib.

However, Shakib told the Washington Post that “it is not possible to get justice because Cedar will never be able to return home.” “But the important thing is that we make sure this doesn’t happen to another family again and that government officials understand that animals are not property. They are family members.”
Shakib is also the co-founder of Advancing Law for Animals, a non-profit organization.

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“Sheriff’s deputies did nothing but enforce the law,” said Christopher Pisano, an attorney representing the county and the sheriff’s office. He said his clients accepted the deal because they did not want to go to trial.

How did the story of Goat Sedir begin?

The goat saga began in April 2022, when Jessica’s mother, identified in court documents as EL, purchased a white-and-brown Boer goat for her daughter.
According to the Longs’ 2022 lawsuit, Jessica fed and walked him “as a family pet” for about three months.

In June 2022, mother and daughter displayed Cedar for potential buyers at the Shasta County Fair’s livestock auction. On the last day, Jessica decided she couldn’t bear losing Cedar. However, auction representatives said that withdrawal was prohibited.

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At this point Cedar was about 7 months old and fetched a price of $902. Jessica recanted because she was afraid the goat would be slaughtered for its meat. He cried and refused to release the animal to county fair officials.

Her lawyer said the girl was “exercising her rights” as a minor to reject any contract for the sale of the Cedar. His family attempted to withdraw the goat from the auction before bidding began, promising written compensation to the goat’s buyer and the fair for any damages that might occur from Cedar’s removal. Sacramento Bee newspaper reported.

Mother, daughter, and the goat went home, but worried about what her neighbors in Shasta County would think, the mother took Cedar to a farm more than 200 miles away in Sonoma County, California, where she thought the goat would be safe.

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County fair officials are pressing for the return of the goat

However, according to the lawsuit, a livestock manager from the fair called and demanded that Sedir be returned. The next day, Long wrote a letter to the fair stating that three of her daughter’s grandparents had died within the past year and that she “couldn’t bear the thought” of Jessica losing Cedar as well.

Melanie Silva, the fair’s general manager, said in her response to Long: “Making an exception for you will only teach (our) youth that they do not have to follow the rules set for all participants.” Email provided to the Post by Long’s lawyers.

County fair officials said the livestock auctions are designed to teach future farmers and ranchers about their responsibilities and how to raise animals for food. Another fair official states Long’s case, saying he threatened the family with grand theft charges in phone calls and messages.

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In July, the Post reported, a judge approved a sheriff’s department warrant to search a Napa County farm that had posted a plea on Instagram for Cedar’s life to be spared.

It’s unclear who contacted the sheriff’s office and directed it to get involved, according to reports L.A. Times. County officials deny any wrongdoing.

Sheriff’s deputies seized the goat

Two sheriff’s deputies drove north to a farm in Petaluma, California, and found Cedar. The lawsuit accused deputies of not having a warrant to search the property in question, but Pisano told the Post they didn’t need it because an employee at the farm turned Cedar in.

Later that month, the mother texted the owner of the Petaluma farm and learned that Cedar had been impounded. The goat was slaughtered towards the end of July 2022.

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Long filed a lawsuit against sheriff’s office employees, alleging they violated her and her daughter’s right to due process and unreasonable search and seizure. In March 2023, Long added more defendants, including Shasta County and the Shasta County Fair and Event Center; Long said he took Cedar after sheriff’s deputies seized him.

ongoing litigation

Long’s lawsuit against the Shasta County Fair and Event Center is ongoing. Shakib said he and Long’s family still have questions about Cedar’s final days, including who asked law enforcement to seize the goat, who killed him and where his remains are.

“We are continuing to pursue litigation against the California fair organization, the employees involved, and a 4-H volunteer,” Shakib told the Sacramento Bee.

Court documents show Jessica will receive $65,000 in the current settlement.

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