As the Powell City Council considers a revamp of the city’s rules related to exotic pets, the goat owner who kicked off the discussion is encouraging the council to give local residents more freedom.

“I wish that they would work more towards helping their constituents feel freer and not trying to get and hold onto as much control as they can,” Venus Bontadelli said in a Tuesday interview.

Last summer, the council declined to issue Bontadelli a permit for her Nigerian pygmy goat Porsche Lane, largely citing concerns about the precedent they’d be setting. That forced Bontadelli to send Porsche Lane to a friend’s home.

However, after she sued the city in Wyoming’s federal court — alleging the city’s permitting process was arbitrary and lacked objective standards — the council reversed course. Last month, members agreed to issue a permit for Porsche Lane and began reconsidering the city’s ordinances related to exotic pets.

The council has yet to decide what changes it might make, directing City Attorney Scott Kolpitcke to review other communities’ rules for exotic pets. At the council’s Feb. 2 meeting, Bontadelli offered some suggestions.

Suggesting standards

Initially introducing herself as “the goat lady,” Bontadelli said the city’s ordinances should provide more definitive criteria for what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to pets.

She suggested they ensure the applicant owns the property or has permission from the owner; that the owner can safely and responsibly house the animal; and that the pet doesn’t pose a danger to the owner or others.

“I had somebody say, ‘Oh, well, I want to have a puma,’” Bontadelli recalled, but in that example, “there’s no safety: It’s going to eat your neighbor’s dog or cat ...”

She suggested a 150-pound limit to match the largest breeds of dogs. (Porsche Lane is about 20 pounds.)

“If they’re no bigger than your average size dog, I don’t see where there would be an issue with having them,” Bontadelli said.

She also said exotic pet owners should keep their properties clean and prevent their animals from becoming a nuisance, but implied those requirements aren’t currently being enforced for other animals. Bontadelli said there are people who have enough dog poop in their yard that it can be smelled three houses away, some who allow their dogs to bark all night outside and others who are over the city’s two-dog limit “and nothing is said to them.”

In Bontadelli’s case, two neighbors wrote letters in support of Porsche Lane, while the initial complaint that put the goat on the city’s radar was made by someone outside the neighborhood.

Legal limbo?

The council voted last week to formally begin the process of scrapping the city’s existing exotic pet ordinance, but the current rules will remain in place until the repeal passes two more votes. If a resident applies for a permit in the meantime, city officials could be put in a tough spot; Wetzel mused last month that they could be “back into where we’ve been before.”

In her federal suit, Bontadelli contended that the city’s existing ordinance is “unlawful,” in part because it doesn’t contain any standards for issuing a permit.

The city did not admit to any wrongdoing when it settled the case last month, but agreed to issue a permit for Porsche Lane in exchange for the dismissal of the suit.

No money changed hands and each party was responsible for its own legal fees; Bontadelli’s counsel with the Pacific Legal Foundation took on the case pro bono while the city was represented by its insurer, the Wyoming Local Government Liability Pool.

Bontadelli was able to bring Porsche Lane home in mid-January, shortly after the settlement was finalized. She said Tuesday that the goat is doing well.

“She’s getting back in the swing of things,” Bontadelli said.

Providing input

The city’s permit is tied to Bontadelli’s current residence, is nontransferrable, only applies to Porsche Lane and is good for five years.

If Porsche Lane is still living at the residence in January 2031, Bontadelli can apply for another permit to keep her pet there — unless the city stops offering those permits altogether.

At the Jan. 19 meeting, Wetzel mentioned that “we could also just say there are no exotic pets allowed in the City of Powell,” but immediately clarified he was not calling for that approach.

Last week, Bontadelli specifically discouraged the council from barring all exotic pets. She and her family recently moved to Powell from California and she said Wyoming is “supposed to be one of the freest states.” Bontadelli said the council should be “making sure that people can still be free while not impeding and invading on another person’s freedom.

“I think that’s what it just comes down to,” she said. “Does it make your constituents more free, or are you locking them down and taking away their freedoms and rights?”

“Thanks for your input,” Wetzel responded. 

The council then voted unanimously to repeal the existing ordinance on first reading. The second of three readings will likely take place at the council’s Tuesday, Feb. 17 meeting.