OXFORD, Ga. — County officials have met with an Oxford family “numerous times” about how to resolve the issue of keeping a goat that is a certified emotional support animal in a residential zone in which farm animals are not allowed, a spokesman said.

That includes providing the family a free survey plat required to apply for a variance from zoning laws, and extending the time to resolve the matter, said Bryan Fazio, public information officer with the Newton County government. 

Fazio said Interim County Manager Jarvis Sims and Development Services department staff have met with the Walden family about the goat that assists their 6-year-old son Kayden with his social development skills in the backyard of their Carole Drive home.

Newton County’s Zoning Ordinance includes a section dealing directly with laws pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act, Fazio said. 

“The county is following those laws and ordinance,” he said. 

A section of the Zoning Ordinance authorizes the county Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) to consider a variance application “related to residential use by a handicapped person or persons,” he said.

The BZA is to consider “what reasonable accommodations … it can make to provide the handicapped with equal opportunity to use and enjoy dwellings” while not evading the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, Fazio said. 

“Therefore, staff has suggested a variance be filed with the Board of Zoning Appeals,” he said.

The family had cited the cost of filing and hiring a surveyor as financial hindrances to applying for the variance. Newton County is providing a copy of the plat survey and legal description of the Waldens’ property free of cost, Fazio said. 

“Newton County is also taking the additional step of extending the period before Code Enforcement revisits the property an additional 60 days to allow more time to resolve the matter,” he said. 

A Conyers attorney also has volunteered to work pro bono — at no charge, the attorney told The Covington News. 

The family formerly kept pigs, chickens and a goat named Lego in their backyard and Kayden was responsible for caring for them, said his father, James Walden.

The dispute over the goat began after an unidentified neighbor of the Waldens complained to the county Development Services department Sept. 7 about the animals the family was keeping on its half-acre yard.

Fazio said the county received the neighbor’s complaint and served the Waldens with a notice of violation on Sept. 7.

“Upon inspection, there were livestock animals on the property, which was zoned for single-family residential,” Fazio said. 

“We were notified Sept. 13 the (goat) is a support animal. At the time of the notice, we were not aware that an animal on the property was deemed an emotional support animal.” 

After the complaint was filed, the family found homes for their two pigs and eight chickens but kept the goat for Kayden — who has been diagnosed with autism, developmental delays and bilateral hearing loss. 

Walden said the family has always kept the yard area clean and free of animal waste that would cause odors. 

The goat has helped Kayden start developing socialization skills following years of being non-verbal, Walden said.

“I have given all of our paperwork to the county in regards to our certification and my son’s ID cards to show that Lego is his service animal,” he said.

Walden disputes the county’s claim about not knowing about the goat’s function. He said the family told county officials numerous times that Lego is an emotional support animal.

Walden and he believed the county was “trying to make an example of us,” and “bullying us.”

He said others in the same neighborhood also cared for farm animals in their backyards and were not being ordered to remove them. 

However, officials have said the county does not have employ enough codes enforcement officers to check every residence and business — and only acts after being notified about possible violations.