Burbank Relents--Arnold the Potbellied Pig Can Stay

Grabbing one of Burbank’s hottest issues by the tail, the City Council has reversed a local ordinance that prohibited the keeping of certain pigs as pets.

The decision should bring squeals of delight from a Vietnamese potbellied pig named Arnold, the pet of two Burbank men. City officials tried to evict Arnold, a 45-pound miniature porker with a bulging belly, from his home last September.

The council ruled Tuesday that Vietnamese potbellied pigs could be kept as domestic pets in the city, within limits. The animals must weigh less than 100 pounds, there can be only one pig per household and their owners will have to get a permit from the Burbank Animal Shelter superintendent.

Pigs were on the list--along with lions, tigers, bears and more than 80 other varieties--of animals prohibited under the Burbank Municipal Code. Robert Ridenour was cited by police in October for keeping the pig at his Grinnell Drive home. Police have never revealed who ratted on Arnold.

“We have an ordinance that says no pigs. It’s as simple as that,” animal shelter Supt. Fred DeLange said at the time the citation was issued. “It doesn’t say anything about Vietnamese potbellied pigs. It just says no pigs.”

But Ridenour, saying that Arnold was more a pet than a pig, claimed the ordinance was aimed at 800-pound porkers who compete for blue ribbons at county fairs. Arnold, he said, is not only housebroken, but has been trained to come when called, sit on command and climb up step ladders.

Jackie Stallone, mother of actor Sylvester Stallone, bought the pig as a birthday gift for one of her sons. But he apparently turned up his nose at it.

So last summer, Stallone gave Arnold to Ridenour’s roommate, Steve Erhardt, to watch until a permanent home could be found. The two men grew fond of the pig, which they said is smarter and cleaner than their dog, Oki.

Ridenour and Erhardt could not be reached for reaction Wednesday.

Miniature Vietnamese pigs are short and black with round bellies that nearly drag on the ground. Some yuppie Southern California animal lovers have adopted them as chic pets, sometimes paying as much as $3,500 for one, said officials with the Southern California Potbellied Pig Assn.

The National Animal Disease Center, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has said the pigs pose less of a health threat to humans than dogs or cats. They added that when cared for properly, the pigs are cleaner than most domestic pets.