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This little 'ghost' piggy haunts the neighborhood

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published February 21, 2007

Code officers scoured the north side of the city last month, after receiving an anonymous tip about a pig running amok.

They never saw the pig, but decided action should be taken anyway. Their department head suggested that the City Council make it illegal for residents to own potbellied pigs. To do that, the council must delete an ordinance permitting pig ownership in nonfarm areas.

"The fad of raising Vietnamese potbellied pigs has passed and community compliance has had a complaint where a pig is causing environmental problems in a neighborhood," Bud Wortendyke, head of code enforcement, told the council. "Community compliance believes the elimination of the provision would help prevent further problems in the community."

The council has already given the measure tentative approval. Final approval is scheduled for Thursday's council meeting.

Pinellas Park spokesman Tim Caddell agreed that the action could appear to be a bit extreme.

"I think it's for future planning," Caddell said.

Although no official has seen the rambunctious pig, Caddell said he has heard rumors.

One is that the pig has two owners who live near each other. They allegedly allow it to travel freely between the two houses.

Another rumor concerns its size.

"Supposedly, this pig is 200 or 300 pounds or something, so it's not a little, lovable, sit-in-your-lap potbellied pig," Caddell said.

Officials are not even sure it's a potbellied pig, he said.

"I didn't get the sense that any of our people had actually been eye-to-eye with the pig," Caddell said.

Could the pig rumors just be Pinellas Park's answer to the dolphins that someone reported seeing in Lake Seminole a few weeks ago?

Caddell laughed, and theorized that the city's "ghost" pig may have eaten the dolphins. Or vice versa.

Did city officials cook up the phantom pig as a way to increase tourism?

"Yes, that's our Chupacabra," Caddell said. "We don't have the skunk ape. We don't have Big Foot....I think it's kind of a nice thing, I guess. At least it's not giant rats or something, although we haven't seen it. It could be."

One possible name for the pig? The Parker Porker in deference to the city of Pinellas Park, whose natives call themselves Parkers.

If you go

Council meeting

The City Council is poised to make it illegal for Pinellas Park residents to own Vietnamese potbellied pigs by deleting an ordinance allowing residents in nonfarm areas to own them. Final approval is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the council chambers at City Hall, 5141 78th Ave. N. The meeting is open to the public.

[Last modified February 21, 2007, 07:45:31]