Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 4, 1993 TAG: 9307040176
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA LENGTH: Medium
Neighbors are squealing over Oliver the Vietnamese potbellied pig, contending the animal is noisy, smelly and attracts flies.
Oliver has been the subject of more than a dozen complaints from angry neighbors and his owners have received 14 citations under a law forbidding swine in the city.
But Krista Metze and Huel West say Oliver is a fine pet and they are vowing to continue a fight to keep him.
Alexandria planned to take the two to court this week, but a judge gave Oliver a reprieve when he postponed the case to July 21.
"I'll fight this thing to the end," Metze said. "I'll go all the way to the Supreme Court. It's my right to have a pet pig."
The no-swine law is intended to make sure no one keeps barnyard animals in the back yard, City Council member Kerry Donley said.
Vietnamese potbellied pigs are about the size of a Labrador retriever. The trendy animals are bred and sold as pets.
"I've heard they make good pets, but there are some instances in which they outgrow their surroundings," Donley said.
The 80-pound animal is cleaner than a dog and very obedient, Metze said.
"He sleeps with me under the covers and shares my pillows," she said.
Oliver also likes to play in his Looney Tunes baby pool or trot around the back yard.
Not all the neighbors are complaining.
"He's fantastic. He's more intelligent than most people," said Veronica Earl, who lives across the street.
Oliver is the second pig called into court in Alexandria this year.
In April, David Phillips and Lee Tucker failed to persuade city officials to change the swine law. They argued the potbellied pigs should not be considered barnyard animals because of their small size and because they can be litter-trained.
In 1991, a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge ruled that a similar anti-swine law in Fairfax did not apply to the pets.