A herd of hungry goats spent the week chomping away at blackberries and other underbrush on Talbot Hill to help a property owner resolve a code violation.

Tammy Dunakin, owner of Rent-a-Ruminant on Vashon Island, arrived at the half-acre site on Sunday with her traveling crew of 108 goats to find “totally solid,” 5-foot-tall blackberries and underbrush.

The goats went to work, living at the site, while Dunakin stayed in her small trailer nearby.

“The goats are just munching way, doing what they do. They love it. They love their job. It’s good for the goats. It’s good for the planet,” said Dunakin.

Dunakin’s goats were responding to a code violation at 21st Avenue South and Benson Drive near Talbot Elementary School.

The property owner was cited in May for failure to maintain vegetation under 24 inches and time was granted to schedule the goats, according to Timothy Lawless, a code-compliance officer.

“Over-grown vegetation is seasonal and violations for vacant land increase in the summer,” said Lawless.

The owner also had obtained an estimate to have the vegetation removed mechanically.

Dunakin scheduled five days for the goats to do the work, at $725 a day plus a $450 mobilization fee.

Nearly all of Dunakin’s goats are rescue animals, saved from the slaughter house.  “I would rather give unwanted animals a good life than bring a lot of animals into the world,” she said of breeding her own animals.

Her herd totals about 130, including about 15 retires who spend their time at the “Old Goat’s Home” on her farm.

She doesn’t feed her goats much during the working season because their job is to, well, eat. But last winter, her goats  ate up 42 tons of hay in five months.

“That’s why they are so good at what they do. They eat a lot,” she said.

“It’s a mystery of goats,” she said, why they can each thorns and other tough vegetation and not hurt their mouths as soft as hers.

It’s also a myth that goats can eat anything, although she’s seen them eat up political signs.

Some plants, such as rhododendrons, azaleas and laurels, are toxic to goats and potentially could kill them if eaten, she said. She checks each property beforehand for any plants that might harm her goats.

Dunakin is so busy that she’s starting to license or franchise her business. Anyone interested would need at least 15 goats; Dunakin could help find them.

She’s interested in finding franchisees in Western Washington, including in South King County.

Information about her business is available online at www.rentaruminant.com