WILD KINGDOM: TURKEYS, GOATS AND MINIATURE HORSES ARE ROAMING CAPE'S HARDS

The back yard at 1218 William is a place Dr. Doolittle would love, but neighbors view it as a curse.

Crowing roosters and gobbling turkeys shatter the early morning quiet, and the odor of manure hangs heavy on hot summer days.

Renters James Merritt and his roommate, Doug Parson, own a menagerie. They have rabbits in one cage and six prairie dogs in another. Bird droppings clutter the top of a trampoline that provides shade as well as a place to strut.

And Chocolate the miniature horse has been grazing out front these days -- he ate everything in the fenced-in back yard -- a surprising sight to motorists traveling along the busy route.

But there's little anyone can do about it without filing a written complaint with the city of Cape Girar-deau. And, so far, that hasn't happened.

The city has no restrictions on the types of animals people can keep as pets. Cape Girardeau has more regulations on the ownership of cats and dogs than it does on people harboring snakes and lions.

Helen Coburn says she's shocked that there are limits on how many cats and dogs people can own but not on other animals. She lives with her husband in a tidy house at 140 S. Park, their back yard adjoining Merritt's.

Over the past five years, they've tried to ignore the animals. "We would tolerate quite a bit," she said.

But when Merritt and Parson added the 36-inch-tall, 2-year-old miniature horse to the collection about a month ago, the Coburns had enough. Helen Coburn called the city animal-control officer to complain about the odor, but she refused to make a written complaint. She didn't want to go to court.

But the city won't haul pet owners into municipal court without one, said Aaron Baughn, one of Cape Girardeau's two animal-control officers.

The problem may be solved soon anyway. Merritt said he and Parson plan to buy 50 acres in Bollinger County, more than enough space for their animals. They want to get out of the city and away from children who routinely walk by the yard and throw rocks and bricks at the pets. "People are always climbing over the fence," he said.

Merritt said residents of a neighboring apartment house frequently complain about the pets. Sirens sounding on emergency vehicles get a noisy response from the turkeys and roosters. The chickens have flown over the fence from time to time, Merritt said. He clips their wings in an effort to prevent such escapes.

Public nuisances

Pet owners have been ticketed for letting pot-bellied pigs, goats and cattle run loose, said Baughn. Fines can range up to $500. Animal odor and noise can be considered public nuisances, which also carry a fine of up to $500.

Again, prosecution requires a formal complaint and the willingness of complaining neighbors to go to municipal court, Baughn said. Few neighbors want to take that step.

Baughn said animal-control officers have removed poisonous snakes from rented apartments and houses after landlords objected to their tenants having such pets. A state law enacted in 1983 says individuals must register dangerous pets, including lions, tigers, coyotes and poisonous snakes, but the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department hasn't had a single pet owner on its registration list for at least a year and a half.

Under Cape Girardeau city codes, pet owners must keep their animals on their own property. That was a problem for Robert and Cherie Herbst of 811 E. Rodney, who own Billie Jean, a goat named after Michael Jackson's hit.

"Up until a couple of years ago, I'd let her loose," said Robert Herbst, a former Cape Girardeau city councilman. But too often she ended up eating neighbors' flowers, he said.

Friends gave Cherie Herbst the goat when the animal was 3 days old. She bottle fed the goat six times a day for six weeks.

Billie Jean lived in the basement of the couple's stately brick home. But the Herbsts soon moved her outdoors to their grassy side yard. Seven years later, she's still a fixture there. When she's not in her goat house, she can be found roaming the yard, tethered to a long chain.

"I don't guess she has ever seen another goat," said Cherie Herbst.

But Billie Jean has seen plenty of school children. The Herbsts often take her to area elementary schools for the children to pet.

The goat eats grain, corn, grass and newspapers. "She loves the newspaper," said Robert Herbst as he watched Billie devour a page of newsprint.

As they see it, Billie is a perfect pet.

TO COMPLAIN ABOUT PETS

Cape Girardeau residents can file complaints with the city if neighbors' pets are creating a nuisance.

To file a written complaint:

* Contact Cape Girardeau Police Department headquarters at 335-6621 or the department's South Precinct office at 332-4907.

* Ask to speak to an animal control officer.

* Fill out a complaint form. The animal control officer can bring one to the scene, or residents can pick up forms at the station.

* Once a complaint is received, the city prosecutor can issue a summons requiring the pet owner to appear in municipal court to answer to the nuisance charge.