Sheriff's Office calls review of baby goat's death at Lattin's farm a precaution; farm believes treat feed was to blame

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office is looking into the death of a baby goat at Lattin's Country Cider Mill and Farm on Rich Road Southeast, a step Sheriff Derek Sanders called a precaution, The Olympian reported Thursday. The farm says it believes the goat died after being given more treat feed than she could handle.

Deputies and detectives visited the farm Wednesday and took the goat for "further investigation," the Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post Thursday, according to The Olympian.

The sheriff's caution. "It is important for the public to understand that it is entirely possible that negligence or abuse was not a factor, and we will not have answers until a necropsy and further investigation is completed," Sanders said on his own Facebook page, The Olympian reported. He said investigators took the goat to "rule out any negligence."

What the farm says. In a Facebook post Wednesday, Lattin's said it was mourning "one of our beloved baby goats," the smallest in its herd. The farm said a staff member had tended to other animals shortly before the goat died. Staff closed the goat enclosure while they checked the rest of the herd, and the farm said it will set stricter treat limits for the rest of the season.

How it came to light. The Sheriff's Office said it was aware of a post on Reddit's r/olympia forum, where a user wrote that they had seen the goat "huddled in a corner" during a Tuesday visit, The Olympian reported.

No necropsy results had been released as of early Friday, and all details here are from The Olympian's reporting.