After a cross-country journey and a recent brush with animal control, a man who arrived in Arlington with three goats finally made it to D.C.
However, he didn’t stay for long and he only has two goats with him now.
“The goats remaining in the care of Arlington County Animal Control have been returned to their owner, and Animal Control is no longer in possession of any goats associated with this case,” Jennifer Toussaint, chief of animal control in Arlington County, told ARLnow today (Thursday).
“During their time in our care, the goats received medical support, and additional supplies, resources, and husbandry guidance were provided to support their ongoing wellbeing,” Toussaint said.
ARLnow has received multiple updates on the status of the goats’ owner, a man known as Jacob Holiday, throughout the day.
A tipster contacted this site around 7:20 a.m. about a pair of black goats spotted on the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. The owner wasn’t around, but the tipster found a nearby cart carrying personal belongings and a quote from a Beatles song.
Holiday has been traveling across much of this country for months if not years, with the intention of singing the John Lennon song “Imagine” on the steps of the Capitol Building. He had spent the past several weeks in Arlington, entering the county by foot late last month.
Around 10:20 a.m., a second tipster spotted Holiday traveling west on I-66 in Rosslyn, north of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. Two black goats were walking along the side of the highway, hitched up to a wagon carrying the man’s belongings.
There was still no sign of a third goat — a white one — that originally accompanied Holiday into Arlington.
Holiday’s goats had previously been in the custody of Arlington County Animal Control, which seized them earlier this month, citing a “legal matter.”
It’s unclear where Holiday is at this point.
Holiday’s travels have been extensive. He told other outlets that he began his journey in Minnesota, although a Nebraska news site reported that he had walked all the way from California. He was spotted walking through the City of Fairfax with his heavily loaded wagon last month, according to Annandale Today.
Holiday arrived in Arlington around July 29 and initially pitched camp in the area of Arlington Blvd and S. Carlin Springs Road. After his goats were seized, however, he moved to a median on the western side of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, where he and another man encamped for the better part of two weeks.
Over at animal control, Toussaint did not provide further details on the status of any legal investigation into Holiday.
“As a resource-first agency, our goal is to work with community members to address animal welfare concerns while taking the level of intervention necessary to safeguard the animals involved,” Toussaint said. “In keeping with our commitment to respecting the privacy of the community members we serve, we are not able to provide additional details regarding the circumstances of this case.”
