My name is Maya McCrea, and my family has lived in Live Oak since before the Great Depression. My great-grandparents owned five acres on 17th Avenue, but when the Depression hit, they lost that land and walke down to Portola, then only a train track, with only what they could carry and their five children. At 2201 Portola, they found an abandoned chicken coop, fixed it up, and lived inside it while they built the home that still stands today. From the very beginning, the eggs from those chickens fed our family and kept them going. For nearly a century, roosters have been part of our land, our livelihood, and our story. Even my dad, Danny McCrea, when he was about 8 years old, was recognized in the Santa Cruz Sentinel when his hen laid an extraordinary egg, so large it was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not and came close to breaking the world record. Now those traditions are being passed down to my kids. One rooster in particular, named Owl, is my oldest son’s pet. He has cared for Owl, loved him, and taken responsibility for him. But because of a single complaint, the County is telling us we must get rid of him. This fight is about more than just our family. It’s about protecting the rural character and history of Live Oak, where farming, chickens, and roosters have always been part of the soundscape and community. If we lose this, we lose a piece of what makes Live Oak unique. Please help us protect our history, our community, and my son’s beloved pet rooster, Owl.