It sounds like the beginning of a joke — “Two goats and a Great Dane walked into a Target … ” — but this story is for real.
Target shoppers in Harris County, Texas, were joined recently by some unexpected visitors.
On Feb. 8, two goats and a Great Dane were seen walking down the road close by and into the Target parking lot near Cypress Wood and I-45, Mark Herman, constable with Harris County Precinct 4, told Fox News Digital.
Witnesses told the constable the goats and dog separated from each other by the time the goats entered the Target unaccompanied by their fellow furry friend.
Constable Herman and his team arrived on the scene in a matter of five minutes, he reported, after the goats had been on the premises for nearly 15 minutes.
The goats were able to get into the Target through the exterior automatic doors.
A citizen and an employee, teaming up, corralled the goats into the entryway of the target between the exterior entry and the doors into the store, Sgt. Warren Conner, Harris County Sheriff’s Office Livestock Unit, told Fox News Digital.
The goats were cooperative and did not put up a fight.
“Believe it or not, these goats were well groomed,” Constable Herman said.
“It was very clear to us they were someone’s pets … We feel like they belonged to somebody.”
In Texas, only the County Sheriff’s office is allowed to pick up loose or stray livestock, Sgt. Conner said.
Constable Herman then called in the Harris County Sheriff’s office livestock unit to retrieve the loose goats.
The goats were then taken to the livestock unit’s facility and placed in the goat pen.
They’ll remain there for the 18 days following their retrieval, Sergeant Conner shared.
“If we don’t find the owner by the end [of the 18 days], we send them off to auction or donate them to a charity,” he noted.
It is presumed the two goats are from somewhere near the Target where they were found, but as of publication time, no owner has yet come forward to claim the two goats.