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| You can beat City Hall |
Portly pot belly pig prevails over politics - Neil the Pig stays in Sierra Madre(Sierra Madre Weekly link): Some likened it to Charlotte's Web, but a Sierra Madre porcine's predicament went far and beyond anything E.B. White could have written or imagined.
The whole episode actually started out as a simple request from resident
Dr. Katherine Emerson about a rather noisy rooster in a neighbor's yard that had been disturbing the peace for some time and waking people up at all hours apparently.
According to Emerson, she had contacted the city several times and got no results two months ago when she complained about the rooster's existence ... which is a violation of city ordinance.
Emerson, who 'phoned the city on Tuesday last week was told by City Manager Elaine Aguilar that the situation was "being handled."
Within 2 hours of that phone conversation, the Pasadena Humane Society was at Emerson's door complete with a citation to have her pet pot belly pig Neil removed from the City of Sierra Madre limits due to a "code violation." Emerson told Beacon Media, "that would have killed Neil ... a modern day Charlotte's Web indeed."
Emerson said this wasn't a mere coincidence. "The City had never before contacted me about Neil, or any code violation." Emerson also stated that she feels Elaine Aguilar is "not doing her job," and believes the decision to target Neil was politically motivated due to upcoming elections. "Even the Mayor (Nancy Walsh) was not on Neil's side," Emerson said.
Ludicrous yes, but nonetheless the letter of the law ... well, almost.
Neil was apparently in violation of municipal code 08.030, entitled simply "Hogs." The code prohibits hogs from residing within the city limits. However, Neil is actually a pot belly pig, not listed in the code, anywhere. Dr. Emerson said she was warned if Neil was not removed from the city's limits they will proceed with legal action and have him destroyed.
(Mod: Now we know ...)
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