A woman has started an online petition to change a Columbia city ordinance regarding livestock so that her miniature pet pig can stay by her side.
Among the houses of a typical Columbia neighborhood, you're sure to see the typical suburban animals; squirrels, cats, dogs and a very untypical miniature pot belly pig named Maple.
It's been Courtney Profitt's dream since she could remember to own one. "I've always been in love with pigs. Every Christmas or occasion I got a stuffed animal, everybody knew it was a pig," she laughed.
For the past several months Profitt and Maple have been inseparable, that was until she received a notice from the county's animal control stating she had to surrender her pet.
"The Columbia ordinance was that you couldn't have livestock within a thousand feet of someone else's house," said Profitt.
Now she's preparing to present her case to city officials, with the hopes they'll have a change of heart for a little pig who's her number one pet. "It's still a growing popularity. It's not one of those things that five or six people on your street will have," she said.
An online petition in support of Profitt's quest to keep Maple and change the city amendment has more than 15,000 signatures and support for mini pot bellied pets is growing across the nation.
"A list of 208 cities in the United States have changed their amendments just for these pigs," Profitt said.
She may have an uphill battle to climb but she's determined to fight. You can read the online petition by clicking here.
