Arnold, Fannie and Sadie may be outlaws, "but they're not swine," according to Brenda Button.
"They don't deserve their reputation," she says of her three little pigs. "They are intelligent, personable, lovable, affectionate. They're my pets."Salt Lake County doesn't think so, however. Under current zoning ordinances, Button's miniature potbellied pigs belong on an animal farm along with their 500-pound cousins. They are livestock, the law says - no different from sows and hogs - and livestock are not permitted in residential areas.
Household pets are defined as animals or fowl "kept for company or pleasure," said county planner Bill Marsh. "Pigs ordinarily haven't been kept for company or pleasure," he noted.
In a pig's eye, responds Button. "I've had cats and dogs, but I enjoy my pigs the most. I take them for walks and to the park, and I teach them to do tricks. A lot of people really love them."
Her potbellied pigs are potty-trained, quiet and don't bite, she said. "People think of pigs as dirty and mean, but these are not."
Arnold - This little piggy is a "real sweetheart." He's deaf, but he responds to hand signals and depends on Fannie and Sadie to alert him to danger.
Sadie - This little piggy is "pretty tough." She's not sweet, but she's fun-loving. She likes water and delights in snorting water bubbles.
Fannie - This little piggy is a "crybaby." She whines a lot, all the way home, but she's smart and hams it up more than the others.
"It would be devastating if I had to get rid of my babies," Button said. "I think I would rather move."
To avoid that eventuality, Button has petitioned the Salt Lake County Planning Commission to amend its household pet ordinance. The issue will be considered at 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 23.
Marsh said the commission can direct the planning staff to prepare an amendment for public hearings and possible adoption, order a study or deny the request. The issue is not whether Button's potbellied pigs should be allowed, but whether potbellied pigs in general should be pets, he said.
"Sometimes one individual case isn't causing any problems, but the Planning Commission has to look at the overall impact," Marsh said.
Button has managed to keep her pigs up to now because none of her neighbors has complained.
"I don't like being in violation of the law; that's why I'm doing this," Button said, adding that the growing popularity of potbellied pigs as pets justifies a change in the law. Button has sold 20 piglets as pets and estimates there are hundreds in the county.
The miniature potbellied pig was facing extinction a few years ago, Button said. Native to Southeast Asia, they were almost wiped out by the Vietnam War.
Proponents say that with a change in the law, the outlook for the potbellies' futures would be more favorable.