Tinley Park Family May Have To Give Up Pet Mini Pigs Due To Old Code

TINLEY PARK, IL — A Tinley Park family is appealing to the village in order to keep their two pet miniature pigs, Milton and Pierre.

Both pigs have lived with the Vana family near 88th Avenue and 171st Street for eight years. According to Philip and Breanna, the small breed of pigs were almost like the couple's first children before having a son and daughter of their own.

"Anyone who has a pet knows they become part of your family," Breanna told Patch. "I don’t know how you could pull them apart from their family."

The pair of pigs lived happily in the neighborhood, staying within the Vana's home and fenced-in backyard, until a woman from animal control showed up at the family's house. According to village officials, an anonymous call from a resident led to the discovery of the two animals. Currently, it's against Tinley Park village code to own farm animals in a residential area.

"We didn't know about the ordinance beforehand," said Philip. "We saw all these pictures of people having pigs as pets ... I never thought of them as an exotic animal."

The Humane Society reports pigs are some of the smartest mammals, on par with dogs and elephants. Breanna can attest, stating Milton and Pierre can jump, solve problems and are even potty-trained.

However, the village is still holding the Vanas to a deadline of two weeks to rehouse the miniature pigs. While village code ordinance officers have been helpful, the Vanas are still concerned for their pets and vowed to bring the issue before the Village Board if need be.

"We would love to change an outdated ordinance because I think people would love to have pigs as pets," Breanna said. "But if the board made an exception in our case, we'd be happy with that as well."

Other local pigs who have been issued exemptions to farm animal bans include Cotton in Morton Grove and Tasha in Joliet. In Tasha's case, the Joliet City Council amended the ordinance to allow families to care for one pot-bellied pig, provided the animal is microchipped.

Most ordinances prohibiting pigs in residential homes were written before 1986, Breanna said, when pot-bellied pigs were sold in the U.S. with the potential to grow to 250 pounds. In comparison, Breanna said the largest Milton and Pierre will become is around 100 pounds, about the size of a bulldog.

As of Wednesday, over 5,600 people had signed a petition asking the village to allow Milton and Pierre to stay in their Tinley Park home. The Vanas are still waiting to hear from Tinley Park police regarding code enforcement.

Tinley Park village officials did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment on the ordinance.