What caused two goats to die in the Finn Hill neighborhood near 0.0 Denny Park more than a week ago will remain a mystery now that the state has ceased its investigation.
Tamera Kesterson, who found her goats Larry and Curley lying lifeless on the side of Denny Creek near Juanita Drive N.E. August 3, has decided a necropsy should not be conducted by state officials.
Since Denny Creek runs out to Lake Washington, ecology officials thought other animals – or people – could be in danger. They performed a test on the water, but found the pH balance was normal. Northwest Region Department of Ecology spokesman Larry Altose said that when officials visited the sight the water was a “light brown color,” which is nothing to worry about. They did not see any whitish material as reported by Kesterson.
The ecology department has no reason to believe the water in the stream caused the deaths of the goats.
“There were no dead fish or other aquatic animals, which we would expect if there was a pollutant in the stream in a high enough concentration to kill goats,” Altose said.
The state agriculture department is interested in any livestock diseases that may be contagious or infectious, but they determined “that was not the issue at hand” with the deaths of Larry and Curley, said a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture Mike Louisell.
Altose said in an e-mail that if the necropsies had revealed “a possible connection to a toxin or pollutant that may have been present in the stream,” they would have resumed their investigation.
The Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance (DCNA), a community group that raises awareness of environmental issues in and around Juanita, has been keeping tabs on the issue ever since the incident was reported.
Jeff Hoerth, a former president of the group, said the alliance was “definitely interested in anything that affects the quality of the stream,” because Kesterson reported that it looked very strange.
Hoerth said if the cause of death had been related to the creek, the DCNA would have considered asking King County or the state for some aid, if it was appropriate.
The Washington State Department of Ecology initially jumped into the matter after Kesterson told KING-5 News that the creek water “was white and murky” and it had “never done this” before.
Then, the state offered Kesterson a private veterinarian to consult with and the doctor did not recommend a necropsy on the animals. Kesterson has since buried them.
“A necropsy was not conducted because it had not been done as quickly as necessary to provide useful results,” said Louisell. “All it would have done was to provide more information as to what was the nature of the deaths of the two goats … it’s up to the owner to be able to decide whether it’s worth pursuing or not.”
A necropsy is not required by Washington state law, according to Louisell. Had one been preformed, it would have been the agriculture department’s responsibility.
Louisell said the goats could have died due to a poisonous plant on the property or a food issue that was “not agreeable” to the goats. Larry was lying dead in the water with his head out, Kesterson told KING-5 News, while Curley was lying on the ground a few feet away. She thought they might have been shot or coyotes had gotten them, but no signs of either. The goats still had collars on them.
“We were trying to help the woman because a livestock owner will go, ‘gee, why did the two goats die so suddenly’?” Louisell said.
When Kesterson discovered the dead goats, she removed four other live goats from her property. One of them was sick, but Louisell said Kesterson told him the goat was showing signs of recovery.
