LA HABRA : Owner Relents When Pigs’ Flies Cause Harm

James Wallace intended to fight City Hall to keep the beloved potbellied pigs he considers “friends.�

Then he discovered that blood-sucking flies from the pigs’ pen were attacking his neighbor and her dogs.

Tears in his eyes, Wallace apologized to his neighbor, Marie Mourey, and told the City Council during a meeting Thursday he will give up his fight to keep Molly and Kevin.

“I did not know we had a fly problem,� said Wallace, his eyes glistening. “I’m sorry.�

The saga over the pigs started two months ago when city officials, responding to a complaint, told Wallace his pets violated a city ordinance prohibiting barnyard animals in residential neighborhoods. He was given 10 days to get rid of the pair, but the deadline was extended pending Thursday’s meeting.

Wallace had started a passionate plea before the City Council to save his pigs, but immediately withdrew his request after hearing his neighbor’s equally compelling story.

Mourey told the council that blood-sucking flies breeding in the pigpen next door attacked the ears of her three German shepherds. When she cured the dogs with a costly medicinal repellent, the flies started gnawing on her, she said.

“They’re not chewing up my dogs now, they’re chewing me,� Mourey said. “Flies carry disease and the odds of me catching something increase with every nibble.�

Wallace said he saved his pigs from shelters two years ago when they were babies, and might return them to one of the shelters or give them to someone who won’t kill them.

Meanwhile, City Council members decided to keep the longstanding law that prohibits pigs in residential areas, citing health reasons.