School bus petting zoo leads to assault in Sebastopol

Last week, an old school bus in Sebastopol received quite a bit of attention, particularly because of the occupants. The Sebastopol Police Department checked out the scene and found two cows, a goat and three dogs inside the bus parked on Morris Street, a group of animals meant to be part of a planned mobile petting zoo. said on their Facebook page. “It was clear the owner had bitten off more than she could chew.”

“Inside a school bus on Morris Street was perhaps not the best place for them, especially since there is a city ordinance prohibiting the keeping of livestock within city limits,” Sebastopol Police

The story doesn't end there, however. While officers researched what could be done in this unique situation, an irate female resident apparently took matters into her own hands and is suspected of assaulting the owner, sending the owner to the hospital with minor injuries. The suspect was arrested and the owner was eventually released from the hospital.

With help from the Sebastopol Police, the owner delivered the animals to a pasture near Cloverdale, which was offered up for the animals to have room to roam.

“It's unfortunate that some felt they needed to resort to violence against the owner, who was perhaps misguided, but meant the animals no harm and treated them well,” Sebastopol Police continued in their Facebook post. “We're thankful the owner's injuries from the assault were minor and the animals have been moved to greener pastures.”

*This post has been corrected to show there was one suspected assailant, and not two.