It started off as a traffic stop.

And it ended with three men being booked on charges of being cruel to a thirsty, hogtied goat.

Morgan Hill special operations Cmdr. Joe Sampson said the charges — which also included driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamine — stem from a Christmas Eve bust on Monterey Road near San Pedro Avenue.

Sampson said officers on Friday spotted a car swerving, and pulled it over. They found that the driver didn’t have a license, and they smelled alcohol inside the car, police said.

Not only did the officer find three open beer cans, as well as plastic bags filled with what he suspected was crystal methamphetamine, but he also heard crying, or rather, bleating, coming from inside the car trunk.

“Lo and behold, there’s a goat tied up in there,” Sampson said. “We think they were going to eat it.”

Police called animal control officers, who found the goat severely dehydrated. “They gave it some water and it drank a gallon,” Sampson said.

The driver, Ciro Paredes, 40, of Morgan Hill, was arrested on charges of not having a driver’s license, DUI and animal cruelty.

Passengers Julio Perez, 27, and Ricardo Melgar, 19, were also arrested for animal cruelty, and Perez was arrested for possession of a controlled substance.

All three men were booked into Santa Clara County Jail.

Contact Lisa Fernandez at 408-920-5002.