A Melville, Sask. woman is up against the city, fighting to keep her family together.
Mona Partridge is being ordered to rehome her pet pig Beans following a complaint from a neighbour.
Partridge received a letter from the City of Melville on May 20, stating she had 30 days to re-home Beans.
“I’ve had him for three years. He eats with me, jumps on the bed, sleeps with me, he likes to crawl under the blankets and cuddle up,” Partridge said.
“I can’t be without him and honestly, he won’t be good with anybody else either.”
Beans is a three-year-old mini Vietnamese pot belly pig and weighs about 35 pounds.
Beans is considered livestock under the city’s animal control bylaw, which makes it illegal to own a pig.
However, Partridge believes there is room for interpretation and believes she will be able to keep Beans in the family.
She sent her own letter back to the city, stating her position, along with a petition with over 1,500 signatures of support from people living in Melville.
“He is quiet, clean and does not smell (pigs have no odor). He lives in the house and is completely house broken. He enjoys time outside in the summer and stays in the yard,” Partridge wrote in her letter to the city.
“He loves his walks in which he is both in a harness and on a leash at all times and is very much loved wherever he goes.”
The city is bringing the issue to council in a couple weeks, where a decision on Beans’ future will be made.
“We’ll have to see if it complies to our bylaw, again the discussion will follow and we hope to make a good rational decision,” said Walter Streelasky, Melville mayor.
Partridge said no matter the decision, she will not be re-homing Beans.
“If I’m not allowed to keep him, we will move,” Partridge said.
Melville city council will address the situation in June.