The owner of a petting zoo on wheels in the North Bay was assaulted by a woman last weekend, Sebastopol police shared on Facebook.
The bizarre turn of events unfolded when several residents flooded police with calls about a woman housing two cows, a goat and three dogs in an old school bus located on Morris Street, police said.
"The owner of the menagerie had a well-intentioned, but perhaps misguided plan to turn the ex-school bus into an educational petting zoo on wheels," police wrote on Facebook.
Police scouted the bus and determined that the woman's furry friends were "well taken care of and not in distress," but the authorities noted that a yellow school bus probably wasn't the proper home for the animals.
"It was clear the owner had bitten off more than she could chew, so to speak, in her new venture," police wrote on Facebook.
The woman eventually moved her bus to a gas station located on Highway 12 and planned her next move. A Sebastopol police officer also joined in the effort to find a forever home for the animals.
Meanwhile, another woman spotted the animals in the bus. Her frustration with mobile petting zoo triggered a physical altercation with the bus owner, police said. The owner of the bus was sent to the hospital with minor injuries, but she has since been released.
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After reaching out to the local community, the Sebastopol police officer was able to find a bit more open space near Cloverdale for the animals to graze.
The unusual string of events proved to be a learning experience for those involved.
"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," police wrote on Facebook. "That person let her passion for animals get the better of her, unaware that the process was already in motion to get the animals into a better situation."
A total of two assailants were arrested following the altercation, police said.
