There’s a plot of land in the Plantsville area of Southington that is well known to locals because of the animals that used to live there. Tragedy has changed all that.
Daniel True posted a sign on his property that says: “Attention: Whoever dumped apples in my pen choked 3 of my goats. Always ask owner before dumping. No animals will be here till Spring/Summer 2020.”
“So I came home from New York, find three of them gone, and it was very heartbreaking for me even digging the hole at night. It was very heartbreaking for me. My emotions were turning,” said True.
He said people folks were constantly visiting his pen to soak in the sweetness of his animals.
“The kids ain’t got nowhere to go, so they like coming here even the mothers with the strollers they’re five deep on Sundays,” he said.
But, they won’t be seeing animals in his yard again for quite some time after three of them died.
“They dumped the apples in there, but they failed to cut them in half. With animals, even big cows, you have to cut them in half or they choke to death.”
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He said he moved the goats that didn’t pass away from the apples to a farm in New York.
Locals like Beverly Clark said life isn’t the same without these neighbors.
“It was enjoyable. I watched them run up and jump.”
She lives right next to the pen.
“I was very sad when he took those (the goats) out, but if people don’t have the brains not to dump their garbage in somebody else’s yard I wouldn’t like that either.”
True said he isn’t reporting the incident to police.
“I can’t really condemn the people because they didn’t know any better. They were probably trying to help them. Let’s feed them, let’s give ‘em some apples.”
But he said it’s a reminder to folks to think before you feed.
“They meant well but they went the wrong way about it. You’ve always got to ask before you dump on somebody’s land no matter what it is.”
True said he won’t bring any animals back until the spring or summer of 2020. In the meantime, he said he plans to fix up the pen area.
