Sheri Sala rescued Benny five years ago and has been fighting to save him, from being relocated, since the town's zoning officer filed a cease and desist order against her a few weeks ago.

Benny is a pet, Sala argues, and lives in the house, for the most part. However, zoning regulations require three acres for goats. She has a one-third acre lot at her 452 New Britain Road home.

At the ZBA meeting, Sala will have to prove hardship in regards to her application for a valence.

Recently, Benny’s plight got a boost from some supporters. Cheryl Smith, a lawyer and author of Raising Goats for Dummies, contacted Sala. Smith will be providing documentation that, typically, a goat that has lived at home does not thrive, and may not survive, if he is place elsewhere. According to Sala, Smith also contends that, in a case such as Benny’s, the herd is the family.

Sala said there were people who’d told her goats needed a herd, and she had been considering alternatives for Benny. But after speaking with Smith and reading her book, Sala said, it was clear she should fight on even though the process has cost over $800 already, with various filings. If Benny is relocated, “He won’t make it,” she said.  

Another Benny supporter has created a Facebook page for Benny, Sala said, adding she’s received many phone calls from people sympathetic to her situation.