GLENDALE : Man Avoids Citation by Giving Away Pig

A misdemeanor citation against a Glendale man was dropped Thursday after he told a judge that he no longer owns his 70-pound Vietnamese potbellied pig, a species banned in the city.

Randall Jahelka, 32, told Glendale Municipal Judge Barbara Lee Burke that he gave away “Hamburger” last month to the Los Angeles Potbellied Pig Assn., which finds new homes for the popular porkers in cities that allow them.

“It really didn’t want to go,” Jahelka said outside the courtroom. “We just gave him a special dinner and gave him some real fresh vegetables and some grapes . . .

“It was just like a sad moment.”

Said Senior Assistant City Atty. Ron Braden, who asked for the dismissal:

“Basically he was required to comply with the law, and he did. I’m satisfied.”

Jahelka, a warehouse manager at a Glendale video store, was cited earlier this year for keeping the pig at his home in a semirural neighborhood at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. A neighbor had noticed the animal in a back yard and reported it to the city’s Humane Society.

Farm animals are illegal in Glendale, but have been accepted in nearby cities ranging from Burbank to Beverly Hills to Monterey Park.

Jahelka was given until Thursday to find a new owner for Hamburger outside city limits, or face a trial. If convicted, he could have been sentenced to up to six months in jail, or fined $500, or both, officials said.

On Thursday, Phyllis Frisbey, a co-founder of the Los Angeles Potbellied Pig Assn., said the group was still seeking a new owner for Hamburger, who remains in a temporary home in Los Angeles. Anyone interested should call (818) 899-8465.

“He’s a little overweight, but he’s adjusting pretty well,” Frisbey said. “He’s a very sweet pig.”