Home | BaltimoreBrew.com
Neighborhoodsby Fern Shen1:42 pmMay 19, 20200

Ed, the Filbert Street Garden’s goat, was “kid”napped last night

Two people are caught on video stuffing the eight-week-old kid in a box. “We just want him back,” garden managers say, offering a $300 reward.

Above: There’s a no-questions-asked reward out for the return of Ed, the Filbert Street Garden’s baby goat. (Henry Scott)

Teenagers broke into the Filbert Street Garden in Curtis Bay last night and snatched a beloved member of the animal family there – eight-week-old Ed, the goat.

According to managers of the garden, the thieves – who appeared to be two teenage boys – entered at 12:13 a.m. by cutting the lock off the fence and entering the shed where Ed and his mother, Cheese, sleep.

“There’s audio, too. It’s awful. You can hear Ed crying as they put him in a box,” said garden manager Charles DeBarber, describing how Cheese was “crying her eyes out” as her little one was hauled away.

The Nigerian Dwarf goat’s birth in March, as Baltimore was beginning to grasp the grim reality of the coronavirus pandemic, was described in a Brew feature as a reason for cheer.

Since then, Ed has become an attraction for children and adults in the far south Baltimore neighborhood. He’s so friendly that he can be seen going right up to the two people who eventually “kid”nap him.

“We don’t know why they took him. We’re thinking they’re not going to hurt him. We hope they’re not. We just want him back, that’s all,” DeBarber said.

How do you “fence” a goat?

De Barber said they are offering a $300 reward for Ed’s return, no questions asked. The theft has been reported to Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County police as well as to Baltimore’s Office of Animal Control.

Ed weighs 20 pounds and is white with black stripes. Anyone with information on the missing goat is asked to call 831-402-1066.

“If this was the country that would be one thing, but what are you going to do with a goat in the city? How do you ‘fence’ a goat,” DeBarber asked. “Somebody’s going to hear him crying.’”

A community fixture in Curtis Bay for the past 10 years, the Filbert Street Garden features fruit trees, plots for vegetable growing, honey bees and more.

Also located at the garden is the Baltimore Compost Collective, whose manager, Marvin Hayes, has this warning for the Ed-snatchers:

“Bring back the goat or you will be composted!”

Amid public outrage, Ed’s captors anonymously bring him back (5/20/20)

• Some good news for Baltimore: The birth of Ed, a miniature goat (3/26/20)

Most Popular