HONOLULU - Four-year-old Kaitlyn was born and raised on a Kauai dairy farm. She was known as gentle and hardworking, and her third pregnancy had generated anticipation among those who knew her.
But that was before her grisly unsolved killing.
Kaitlyn, a white goat with gray markings, was found slaughtered in a pasture last week.
Article Photos
Kaitlyn, a white goat with gray markings, is seen at Kauai Kunana Dairy in December 2009.
Photo via AP
The family-owned Kauai Kunana Dairy has offered an $11,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the pregnant goat's killer.
Louisa Wooton, who has been raising goats on Kauai's north shore for about 30 years, said Kaitlyn's death is like losing a member of the family.
''They bond to us,'' she said Tuesday of the dairy's roughly 60 goats. ''They're very tame. They all have names. They're not just numbers.''
Wooton, 59, grew up on a sheep and goat ranch in Texas. She and her husband, Bob, raised two sons on the Kauai farm.
''To have an animal like Kaitlyn slaughtered on a field has terrorized our family,'' she said. ''We're not sleeping.''
The family posted news of Kaitlyn's death on Facebook. Soon after, concerned people began contacting the Wootons with donations for a reward fund, which the family otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford, Wooton said. The calls offering money keep coming, she said.
The dairy specializes in artisan goat cheese and milk products. Kaitlyn produced $7,000 income per year.
''She was a working-class hero,'' Wooton said.
Kaitlyn - who enjoyed human interaction and loved licking people's hands - was due to give birth next week. She was in a pen with other pregnant goats the Wootons call their ''maternity ward.''
Little remained of Kaitlyn beyond guts and two unborn babies.
Unspent shotgun shells and a hunting knife were left at the scene.
Wooton said she believes Kaitlyn was killed for meat.
''Had they just come to us, we're generous people,'' Wooton said. ''We would have given the shirts off our backs to someone in need.''
The Wootons don't have anything against those who eat goat meat, as long as the animals are raised humanely.
''We're not crazy animal rights activists,'' Wooton said. ''We're farmers. We're practical.''
