By admin 
Growing up on a dairy farm, Robert T. Molleur learned a few things about animal hygiene, including this: Goat droppings do not belong on or near a beach.
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So when Molleur visited Pismo Beach recently, he took offense when he spotted some goat poop near the stairs leading to the shore. He did what any concerned citizen would do. He fired off a letter to the editor.
“The city of Pismo Beach may want to address the ‘pet goats’ and all the smelly goat nuggets left near the beach stairs and shower near the entrance of the Sea Gypsy Motel,” he wrote to The Tribune. “I fully understand the California woke liberal dogma of inclusion and tolerance, but farm animals and all their feces may not be inviting to out-of-town beach goers.”
A former California resident, Molleur now lives in Manassas, Virginia. During his stay in Pismo, he not only caught sight (and smell) of their pellets, he also spotted the guilty parties. He even posed for a photo with them.
In a phone interview, Molleur noted that it’s required by law to clean up after dogs, and believes the same rule should apply to goats. (It does. According to the Pismo Beach Municipal Code, “All persons owning, possessing, in control of, or otherwise responsible for an animal, must promptly collect, pick up and remove all fecal matter left by the animal on public or private lands.”)
‘I do try to clean up after them’
It did not take much detecting to find the culprits. They are the famous “surfing goats” of Pismo, and they belong to “Goatfather” Dana McGregor.
He quickly took responsibility for the wayward pellets, acknowledging that he may occasionally miss some droppings, but if someone points them out, he’s happy to remove them.
“I do try to clean up after them before I leave every day, and I’ll donate goat poop to whoever wants it for fertilizer,” he added.
For the record, the Pismo Beach Police Department is not aware of any other complaints about goat poop.
Nor is McGregor; he says 99.9% of people love the goats.
(As we spoke by phone, a loud chorus of “Long live the goats!” could be heard in the background.)
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The goats are indeed celebrities. They have 11,000 followers on Instagram. They made an appearance at the SLO Film Festival’s Surf Nite, got a photo spread in the Los Angeles Times and are the subject of a couple of children’s books penned by McGregor.
The Tribune has reported on their antics on several occasions, including the time they feasted on ABC (”already been chewed”) gum during a visit to Bubblegum Alley.
It should be noted that the goats written up in the past are not necessarily the goats you see today. Of the original trio — Goatee, Grover and Pismo — only 14-year-old Grover is still with us.
Also, only one member of the current herd actually surfs, though the goats do have other talents. They also hike, serve as soccer mascots and could probably keep your grass mowed. (Goat lovers can sign up for their soccer camps and accompany them on surfing and hiking adventures.)
Molleur wasn’t interested in their resumes.
“I don’t care what the goats are used for. I just thought it was gross,” he said. “I’m for animals and everything, there just needs to be some common sense.”
And what will your Maltipoo have for lunch?
Lest you think Molleur has something against goats, be aware that he also isn’t keen on allowing dogs in restaurants — even on outdoor patios — and was dismayed to find that one restaurant even offered a doggy menu for canine diners.
“It’s a human restaurant, not a dog restaurant,” he said. “At the end of the day, when it comes to pets, people need to use common sense.”
Wonder what he’d think of our cat cafes.
On second thought, probably better not to ask.
This story was originally published August 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “Goats on the beach. Dogs in the restaurants. Has ‘woke California’ gone too far? | Opinion.”
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