She bought goats from her neighbor in December. Now she’s demanding a DNA test.
There’s never been a need for a farm animals’ version of “Maury” — until now.
A Florida woman sued her neighbor to get the paternity test of a goat.
Court documents show Kris Hedstrom filed a civil lawsuit against Heather Dayner in late May for refusing to turn over the DNA of the sire who fathered the four goats that she purchased. Although the statement of claim lists four goats, the Tampa Bay Times reported there were actually five.
Hedstrom, who is seeking either the DNA test or a refund plus court fees, bought five Nigerian dwarf goats from Dayner in December 2019. She then tried to register them with the American Dairy Goat Association, an organization that collects and stores data of goat pedigrees, only to have her application denied, the claim states. Registered goats command more value than unregistered ones, according to the Times.
The ADGA said Dayner had only had one registered buck; Hedstrom accuses her of having another who sired the goats she had bought.
Hedstrom details her frustration in a letter to Dayner, in which she requests a refund or the DNA sample. She also threatened legal action if her demands weren’t met.
“I will then turn over all evidence to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Department Agricultural Unit for a fraud investigation and file a formal complaint with the ADGA in an effort to hinder your ability to continue to sell goats as ‘registered’ without proper documentation,” she wrote in the letter dated Feb. 12.
Dayner told the Times she offered Hedstrom a refund after receiving the letter but never heard back.
The pretrial hearing is set for July 28.
