FESTUS, Mo. — Debbie Buff took in a potbellied pig last year when she found out the pig needed a home.
“We just started calling her Princess Pickles because she acts like a princess,” Buff said.
Buff sound found that she needed Pickles just as much.
“She helps bring comfort to my son and myself,” Buff said. “We both suffer from anxiety and depression. You can just sit with her and pet her and it's comforting, soothing.”
Last year, Buff also lost her oldest son, Brandon.
“She helps with the pain and burden,” Buff said. “She takes my mind off things.”
Buff said she kept Pickles at her home for months but started getting calls and citations from the City of Festus.
Festus City Administrator Greg Camp said the pig is considered livestock and it is not allowed within city limits. The city ordinance also forbids exotic animals, wildlife and poultry.
Buff asked for an exemption and a change in the ordinance. She submitted a letter from her psychiatrist, asking that she be allowed to keep the pig.
“She's not making noise, not causing problems, not running amuck, not doing anything to hurt anybody,” Buff said. “Why do you care if we have a pig here?”
Camp said that after they listened to Buff and gathered feedback from other residents, the city decided to not change the ordinance.
Still, Buff said she is not giving up. She said Pickles is like family and has a home.
“She deserves someone to fight for her,” Buff said. “I don't want to lose anything else. My heart's already broken.”
Buff has been given notice that she must give up her pig. She is due in court next month.
