Resident Finds Law Pig-Headed : Animals: Robert Ridenour says Arnold is cleaner and smarter than other pets. The city of Burbank disagrees.

All this little piggy wants to do is stay in Burbank. But city officials say Arnold, a miniature pig with a bulging belly, belongs on a farm, not in Robert Ridenour’s suburban home.

Ridenour was cited last month for keeping Arnold, a Vietnamese potbellied pig, at his house on Grinnell Drive. Ridenour, however, is challenging the citation, claiming that his foot-high, 45-pound pig is a far cry from the 800-pound oinkers that win blue ribbons at the county fair and that city ordinances were intended to prohibit.

Arnold is the victim of prejudice and misunderstanding, Ridenour said. The citation, which would require Ridenour to get rid of his pet, is on hold pending a review by the Burbank City Council.

The pig was given to Ridenour’s roommate by Jackie Stallone, Sylvester’s mother. She reportedly bought it as a birthday gift for one of her sons, but the surprise was not well received and she gave Arnold to Ridenour and Steve Erhardt to watch until a permanent home could be found.

That was three months ago.

Since then, Ridenour and Erhardt have decided to keep Arnold, who they say is cleaner and smarter than their dog, Oki. The housebroken pig has been trained to come when called, sit on command and climb up stepladders.

Miniature Vietnamese pigs are short and black with round bellies that nearly drag on the ground. They have become chic pets since they were introduced in this country four years ago, with females selling for as much as $3,500, said Phyllis Frisbey, founder of the Southern California Potbellied Pig Assn.

Frisbey estimated that several hundred Southern California residents own the pigs but are reluctant to go public because they are illegal in many cities, including Los Angeles. “Some people are pig prejudiced,” she said.

Neither Ridenour nor Burbank animal control authorities were certain Monday who squealed about Arnold.

The National Animal Disease Center, a branch of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, has said Vietnamese pigs pose less of a health threat to humans than cats or dogs and, when cared for properly, are cleaner than other domestic pets. Even so, many cities refuse to allow the pigs as pets.

Although Burbank officials acknowledge that the pigs may make good pets, they still are illegal under the Burbank Municipal Code. A pig is a pig and a pig is illegal, according to Section 6-301, which outlaws more than 90 animals.

“We have an ordinance that says no pigs. It’s as simple as that,” said Fred DeLange, superintendent of the Burbank Animal Shelter. “It doesn’t say anything about Vietnamese potbellied pigs. It just says no pigs.”

The same ordinance also prohibits lions, tigers and bears. Horses are allowed in some neighborhoods that have appropriate zoning.

Los Angeles prohibits farm animals except on land zoned for agriculture, but Frisbey said her 60-member association is trying to persuade the City Council to change the law.

In September, Monterey Park became the first city in the county to allow residents to keep the pigs as pets, one per household. “We found that they made pretty good pets,” Monterey Park Police Capt. Jim Strait said.

Other cities have not been so flexible. In La Habra Heights, for example, a couple said they would rather move than give up their two pigs, Elmer and Miss Piggy.

Ridenour said that if the City Council does not allow the miniature pigs to live in Burbank, he will challenge the ordinance in court.