Wandering goat followed girl onto school bus

A goat jumped onto a bus bound for North East Middle School in Cecil County, Maryland, on Wednesday morning. “He was a good size, maybe 110 pounds,” said Eric Eldreth, who was waiting with his daughter Elizabeth at around 7:30 a.m. “We saw the goat cross the street,” Eldreth said. “It actually looked both ways.” The goat kept its distance, nibbling on the leaves in the tree line nearby. As the bus approached to pick up students, the goat started to move. Eldreth offered to accompany his 12-year-old to the bus.

“But she’s in middle school. She said, ‘I got it, Dad,’” he said. “I felt comfortable once she got on.” Up until that point, the black-and-white goat, which Eldreth said was larger than his German shepherd, kept its distance. “But then it went on the bus and jumped in (the bus driver’s) lap,” he said. “To her credit, she put on the emergency brake.” Stefanie Gunter was driving the bus. She heard the students discussing the animal, but she didn’t see it at first. Intent on watching the students file in and get seated, Gunter then caught the animal from the corner of her eye.
“He did a hop on the steps, another hop and then he was in my lap,” she said. “I have to say this is the first time I’ve had a goat on my bus,” she added. She said she applied the emergency brake for fear of what the goat might do. “I didn’t know if he was going to kick, or bite or poop in my lap,” the Conowingo woman, who has been a bus driver since 2008, said. Eldreth jumped in to get the animal off the bus. “It got caught behind the seat,” he said, adding he grabbed the goat by its horns. “I was hoping it was a nice goat.”

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Fortunately there wasn’t much struggle, he noted. “He followed me out, but he wasn’t happy,” he said. Gunter said the students were not fearful. “Nobody was up in a panic. It was more like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ and laughing,” she said. Once the goat was evicted, Eldreth called 911 to put out an alert for the wandering farm animal. Lt. Michael Holmes with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy were dispatched to the scene. “The deputy could not locate the goat or its owner,” he said. Eldreth said none of his immediate neighbors have goats.