Cletus released on probation; Animal Control hopes he never comes back

Cletus the viral goat was released on probation Friday morning, and Animal Control officers are hoping that Cletus doesn't violate the terms of his goat probation over the weekend and has to come back.

"We are doing what we call a trial period over the weekend. Someone with plenty of land and three different fences and expertise has agreed to take Cletus," Animal Control Senior Officer Summer Bilbrey told Baldwin2k News. "We have our fingers crossed. Cautiously optimistic."

For the record, Animal Control did pitch the idea of relocating Cletus to Goat/Airport Island on Lake Sinclair, which for many years was home to wild goats that kept up with the landscaping. However, Georgia Power didn't go for it, according to Bilbrey. 

Several people called and inquired about Cletus after he became locally famous, according to Bilbrey, and Animal Control actually screened multiple new potential homes for him. Cletus' new owners apparently are really serious, and they strapped Cletus' horns with pool noodles so he wouldn't injure himself and go "full Cletus" on the ride across the river and out to Prosser Road. 

The news came one day after Cletus' power and influence over the community began to grow, as did his fan club. One animal advocate volunteered to help give Cletus a bath on Thursday, which he enjoyed greatly, while other people stopped by and gave Cletus carrots and Triscuits and alfalfa grass through his open-air jail cell. 

Rarely has one random goat captivated the imagination of a community. The journey to fame all started last Saturday, when Cletus scaled the 12-foot-fence at the new Animal Control headquarters and started walking. Not longer after, calls became coming in, and Cletus’ picture started showing up on Facebook. Cletus actually made two journeys on Saturday. First, he hit up Carrington Woods and eventually decided to come back home. Bilbrey spotted him at the edge of the Animal Control property and moved in. A passing car then rode by and honked the horn, and Cletus was spooked, and Bilbrey lost her opportunity. Cletus then cut through the Graham Homes/Boddie projects and came out on Jefferson Street. 

Cletus apparently is a street smart goat, and he used the side walks and never really had to dodge any traffic.

Cletus then made another daring escape several days later, and this time more than two hours were needed to wrangle him back to his open-air jail cell.

Although Bilbrey is tired of chasing Cletus and tired of Cletus, in general, she hopes that the Cletus story will have a silver lining. 

"Seeing how the (Baldwin2k articles) helped us get a lot of inquires about Cletus, folks can still come check out all the other great dogs and cats we have here that need a home," she said.