SANTA PAULA : Residents Seek to Keep Exotic Pets

The Santa Paula City Council will consider an ordinance tonight that would allow residents to keep exotic animals at their homes.

The proposed ordinance was prompted by a flurry of applications from people who want large reptiles, miniature horses and potbellied pigs as pets, City Manager Arnold Dowdy said.

It is expected to be approved at the 7:30 p.m. hearing.

The city does not have a specific law prohibiting such pets, but residents are required to get the approval of the City Council before acquiring one.

“The new ordinance will set standards for pets,” Dowdy said of the proposal, which could eliminate the need for applicants to make a public appearance. “I think the issue is going to be coming up more often.”

Santa Paula residents Belinda and Dennis Skelton bought a house-trained swine they call Norman about a month ago.

They said it is smarter and cleaner than a dog and should be allowed to stay at their home.

But when they asked city officials how to register the animal, they were met with confusion.

“Everyone has them,” Dennis Skelton said of his Vietnamese pet. “We’re just the first pig owners to come out of the closet.”

The couple said they had to pay a $105 registration fee and get the approval of their neighbors before the city would consider their request.

Tonight, the City Council will also consider their request.

Fillmore pig breeder Douglas R. Benjamin said domesticated swine are quickly replacing dogs as the pet of the ‘90s.

Since April, he has sold nearly 20 of the $500 pigs, which he said will grow “no larger than a good-sized dachshund.”

“We’ve seen several cities in California change their laws to permit pigs,” said Benjamin, who is part-owner of Hollywood Pot Belly Pigs in Fillmore.

Burbank, Monterey Park and Sacramento have amended their ordinances to allow pet pigs in a residential area, he said.