Man with service goat kicked off bus, forced to walk home

Erick Brown and his service goat, Deer, were kicked off a Detroit bus. (FOX2 Detroit)

A man and his goat tried to catch a bus, but their trip home was brought to a screeching halt.

Erick Brown attempted to catch a bus around 8 p.m. Sunday in Detroit, but the driver said it was a no-go when he spotted Brown’s service goat, Deer, climbing aboard with him.

“I get on the bus and the driver was like, ‘What are you doing here? You can’t have a goat on the bus,'” Brown told FOX2 Detroit. “I take the goat everywhere I go because he’s my service animal.”

Fellow riders caught the exchange on their phones and some can be heard complaining about the delay – many just wanting to get home.

“I was also trying to get home as well,” said Brown, who can be heard telling the driver he has paperwork showing Deer is his service animal.

Brown told the news station Deer has helped him since he suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child, saying “sometimes it makes it easier for me to communicate.”

The paperwork he referenced in the video is from the U.S. Department of Housing, which specifically refers to living arrangements for Deer.

The Detroit Department of Transportation told FOX2 it is following the guidelines set by the state, which separates a service animal from a therapy or support animal.

“They have service animals as dogs, and dogs that do specific things for the actual individual who has a disability…providing a service for that individual,” Angelica Jones, DDOT interim director said.

Jones said she has reviewed the cellphone videos from the incident and believes the driver made the correct decision.

As for Brown, he and Deer had to walk four miles home.