SEBASTOPOL (BCN) — An old school bus with livestock inside as a makeshift mobile petting zoo in Sebastopol led to an altercation between the bus owner and a woman who allegedly assaulted her last weekend, police said.
Police wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday about the incident, which began last weekend when the department received multiple calls from concerned residents about the bus parked on Morris Street with two cows, a goat and three dogs inside.
Officers responded and contacted the bus owner, who police said had intended to use it as “an educational petting zoo on wheels” despite city laws banning such a venture.
The animals appeared to be well taken care of and were not in distress and the woman agreed to move the bus to the Chevron gas station on state Highway 12, according to police.
While police were trying to figure out what to do about the animals, a female suspect allegedly assaulted the owner and sent her to a hospital with minor injuries.
The suspect and another person were arrested for the assault. Their names were not immediately released by police.
A pasture near Cloverdale was offered up for the animals by a member of the local agricultural community and the bus owner, after being released from the hospital, agreed to let the animals roam there while authorities determine what to do with them, police said.
Police said in the Facebook post that the bus owner “meant the animals no harm and treated them well” and that the department is “thankful the owner’s injuries from the assault were minor and the animals have been moved to greener pastures.”