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Flatt cannot imagine a life without the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. The animal is his mainstay: Ellie helped him through a divorce and the death of his mother.
“I can’t imagine giving away someone who is part of my family,” he tells the Belfast Telegraph, petting his Ellie in the kitchen. ,,She’s very smart, she’s even more intelligent than my dogs. I think she senses your feelings too. If I feel bad, she will lie with me.”
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Imprisonment
Flatt first lived in the US state of South Carolina when he got the pig in 2018. She was about the size of a shoe at the time. In the meantime Ellie has grown considerably, she now comes to your knee and weighs about 50 kilos.
In 2019 Flatt moved to Canajoharie, a small village in the American state of New York. He bought a fixer-upper where he wanted to open a restaurant. But when an official came by for the building permit in 2019, Flatt was told some bad news: Ellie wasn’t allowed to stay in his house at all.
When authorities noticed the pig was still roaming around the house six months later, Flatt was formally told that he was breaking local rules; according to court records, violation of a zoning plan is a felony. If found guilty, Flatt could face jail time or the four-legged animal could be taken from him, according to his lawyer.
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Danger to public health
Ellie is now regularly bullied in the village, Flatt says. He doesn’t understand that: “The animal is clean and smart.” Several neighbors have signed a statement saying that they find Ellie a nice company.
The mayor will not comment while the lawsuit is still ongoing. But a village lawyer wrote in a statement that the piglet poses a potential public health threat.
Does Ellie have to go? There is still hope on the horizon. Flatt can keep her if he can show that the animal offers emotional support. His lawyer says that the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig complies. Because of the animal, Flatt no longer needs medication and he suffers less from fears.
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The American man is not the first pig owner to enter the legal battle. For example, in 2019 a family from Buffalo was not allowed to keep their pig ‘Pork Chop’, despite it being a support animal for their daughter. An Indiana woman was also told in 2018 that she had to get rid of her emotional support pig for similar reasons.
The trial was scheduled for March 22, but has been postponed.
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