An anonymous Kitchener, Ont. resident is fighting city hall for the right keep a 100-pound pig inside a basement apartment because of a disability.
A staff report from the City of Kitchenerâs finance and corporate services department calls the pig a âservice therapy animal,â but itâs unclear whether the pig is a service animal or support animal.
Ontarioâs guidelines allow pigs to work as service animals, but local bylaws say caring for one in a residential area is illegal.
âThey would not be one of the permitted animals that would be allowed in a residential zone,â Gloria MacNeil, Kitchener's director of bylaw enforcement, told CTV Kitchener. âThey would only be permitted in agriculturally zoned properties.â
In Ontario, all you need is a doctorâs note to have a service animal.
Chapter 408 of the City of Kitchener Municipal Code prohibits residents from keeping animals beyond a list of 13 common house pet species.
The owner filed a request for exemption with municipal authorities, and submitted a doctorâs note after the service pigâs illegal presence was brought to the attention of the local humane society.
âThe pig is well looked after,â admits Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society Director Jack Kinch.
A staff report by the City of Kitchenerâs finance and corporate services department acknowledges that no complaints from the public have been received, and the pig is being kept in a âclean and healthy conditionâ and is âprimarily contained within the residence and abutting fenced backyard.â
âThe City has received a letter from a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario confirming that they believe the pig meets criteria as a service therapy animal to aid in the ownerâs disability,â says the report.
âThe doctor confirmed that the pig may serve its function in the ownerâs residence and does not need to travel with the owner in public.â
Assistant City Solicitor Jennifer Sheryer issued a list of 11 recommendations that would allow the owner to retain custody of the pig within the city. Sheryer says the pig may not ârun at largeâ or enter public buildings or private property without the consent of the owner. The pig cannot create a nuisance or cause âbothersome smells or noises.â
Any bylaw exemption would only apply to the currently owned pig, not one acquired by the owner in the event of the pigâs death.