
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 10, 1995                   TAG: 9510100097
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PIG-OWNING FAMILY FEELS `HARASSED'

Gerald and Emma Saunders thought the controversy over their three Vietnamese potbellied pigs had been resolved after a Roanoke County judge ruled in August that Vinton couldn't enforce its animal-control laws against the couple.

But Charlotte, Arnold and Wilbur face eviction - again - after Vinton amended its illegal pet list last week to include potbellied pigs.

``I feel like I'm just being harassed,'' said Emma Saunders, who learned of the change Friday after returning from her uncle's house in Covington.

Saunders said she found her husband and 10 children on the verge of tears after reading a story in The Vinton Messenger that reported the amendment. When Saunders went to Town Manager Clay Goodman the same day, he gave her a letter stating she had to get the pigs out of town.

``I've got until the 12th [Thursday] to get rid of my pigs - again,'' Saunders said.

Under the new law, ``all swine and porcine animals, including Vietnamese potbellied pigs,'' are prohibited.

Assistant Town Manager Greg Secrist said the law was amended in response to concerns of both the public and the council.

After the code was amended, he said, the town sent a letter to the Saunderses telling them to find another home for their pigs or they be could be summoned to court - again.

``We're giving her some time to comply with the ordinance,'' Secrist said.

The Saunderses' attorney, Pat Ferrance, said he believes the town singled out the family when amending the law.

``I had thought under the given circumstances ... that the matter had been resolved,'' Ferrance said. ``But evidently the town of Vinton wants to take another shot at it.''

The Saunderses, along with several other pig owners in the Roanoke Valley, were unsuccessful in persuading Town Council to amend the code to allow potbellied pigs after they were cited for violating animal control laws in June.

But Roanoke County Judge George W. Harris Jr. ruled that the town code was too vague in its definition of livestock and therefore did not apply to the Saunderses' pigs.

Town Council's action last week was to specify potbellied pigs and other animals in the code's definition of livestock, Secrist said.

Emma Saunders said she is not about to give up fighting for her pigs.

``To me, these are not pigs,'' Saunders said. ``To me, they're a companion. These are our buddies.''

Saunders claims there are about five other potbellied pigs in Vinton that are being kept as pets.

``Today it's my pigs; tomorrow it could be theirs,'' she said.

by CNB