By Emily Uhland
Photography By Jonathan Fredin

​

Jason Thomas, Fuquay-Varina resident and lifelong farmer, lived “nice and calm and at peace” on his Sunset Lake Road property for 20 years, until an enthusiastic neighbor and a viral TikTok video blew the gates to his farm wide open.

​

See, Thomas lives with more than 30 goats, most of which he raised since birth, even bottle feeding some as necessary. When Jesi Wilde (the enthusiastic neighbor) moved into the house behind the so-named Smith Farm Goat Sanctuary, she could see the animals from the back of her home and decided to contact the owner.