Say it oink so!
Residents of a Queens co-op say the pet pig rooting around their courtyard isn’t kosher — and are determined to get the city to evict the unwelcome ungulate from the complex.
“What is this, Tobacco Road? I feel like I’m in another hemisphere!” one resident fumed. “Parents don’t want to let their kids play in the courtyard with pig pee and poop.”
“It’s just ludicrous that there’s a barnyard right under my nose!”
The co-op board at Clearview Gardens in Whitestone recently told Lou and Danielle Forgione, parents of Petey the Pig, that it had received numerous complaints about the 8-month-old porker since the summer but took no action while it consulted its bylaws, which forbid only dogs.
In the interim, the city took the bull by the horns.
“Harboring a pig is illegal in NYC! Must be removed from NYC premises as soon as possible,” reads a Nov. 20 Health Department notice slipped under their door.
The Forgiones remain defiant.
“He’s not a farm animal. He’s part of the family. We’re going to fight. We’re never giving him up,” Danielle, 33, told The Post.
The couple and their six kids took Petey into their home to help ease their grief over the death last March of Danielle’s brother, Peter Paz, 27, in a motorcycle accident on the Long Island Expressway.
With their 6-year-old son, Nicholas, allergic to cat and dog dander, the mini-Juliana pig with coarse hair was a perfect solution.
Petey, whom they bought from and upstate breeder for $1,200, is housebroken, knows commands and can beg for treats of Cheerios and carrots.
He will balloon to about 70 pounds and live up to 20 years.He even has his own Facebook page, where fans squeal with delight with his every wardrobe change.
The pig’s supporters blasted those who squealed on him.
“You don’t wait eight months until everyone gets attached and then make a complaint. He’s like a dog,” co-op resident Kristi Leggett said. “That’s just a malicious attack.”
The city classifies all pigs as livestock. Owning them as pets is illegal, punishable with a fine of up to $2,000.
Along with preparing to challenge the city, the family is petitioning the city to allow ownership of mini-pigs.