Are goats taking landscaping jobs?

Portland, Ore. – Kathy Quigley has never had neighbors quite like the attention-getters that recently moved in at Southeast Belmont Street and 10th Avenue:

Goats.

About 50 were brought in to clear weeds from a two-acre urban lot, drawing hundreds of passers-by to stop for a peek, offer a hand-picked weed or pet the animals through a chain-link fence.

"I think one of the things that struck me was how starved people are for nature," said Quigley, who lives a few blocks away. "And this is kind of like bringing nature to us."

Vancouver real estate agency Killian Pacific had Goat Rental NW of Damascus deliver the animals. The idea came from Brett Milligan, a landscape architect, who was hired by Killian to tend the lot.

"They've been out here two weeks," Milligan said. "I thought things would kind of die down in terms of public interest, but it hasn't at all."

Milligan liked the idea of avoiding gas-powered mowers. But because Killian would agree only if it didn't have to pay extra, Milligan offered to count the goats and refill their water buckets for free.

"I'm getting paid in personal satisfaction," Milligan said with a laugh. "I was very interested in alternative practices, things you could make happen in the city. "

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A similar story has even made it to Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.