Local goat has become an international celebrity

Posted: Nov 14, 2011 10:14 PM by Bill Halter
Updated: Nov 15, 2011 9:08 AM

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Ksby talks to the owner of Goatee after surfing goat makes international headlines

On Thursday KSBY News showed video of Goatee the surfing goat catching some waves with her owner Dana McGregor on Grover Beach. Our footage was picked up and shown by the Today Show, Huffington Post and multiple other media outlets around the world. The surfing goat has gotten more than 35,000 hits on YouTube and so I went to McGregor's house in Pismo Beach to see if Goatee has changed since becoming famous.

Goatee lives in McGregors back yard and is full of personality. McGregor bought the goat five months ago to help with yard work.
"The main reason I got Goatee was to clean up the property with the weeds and the poison oak" says McGregor.

Goatee pulled her weight with the landscaping job, helping McGregor clear the weeds and that was going to be it for Goatee.
"I used to live in Africa, and we ate goats in Africa and there pretty good and tasty. So my friends from Africa were coming in that we all met in Africa and we were just going to eat Goattee" says McGregor.

But McGregor had a change of heart.
"I got super close, I fell in love with Goatee."

Last Thursday on McGregor's 33rd birthday, when the ocean was calm, he placed Goatee on a surfboard and after about 30-minutes of trying, Goatee was able to stay up on the board and ride a wave to shore. After the footage aired on KSBY, McGregor says Goatee started getting recognized locally and now with so many other sites showing the video, Goatee has gone international.
"I just think it's all hilarious. It's just funny. Going with her everywhere and friends calling me up everywhere and just going, your goats famous" says McGregor who also points out the fame hasn't changed his goat.
"You know it hasn't gotten to her head yet. She doesn't even know it and that's probably a good thing."

McGregor says a national magazine has contacted him about doing a feature story and photo shoot with Goatee. He's thinking about starting a weekly online segment involving Goatee to raise money that could be used to buy goats for families in third world countries that really need them for more than just clearing poison oak. McGregor says he also plans to have Goatee serve as the mascot for the youth soccer camps he runs.