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A new law has the owner of an emotional support pig crying wee wee wee at home.
A 100-pound potbelly pig has become the subject of a criminal investigation and longtime scrutiny in the upstate New York village of Canajoharie, where owner Wyverne Flatt, 54, has been harboring the porker as new legislation determined the emotional support animal couldn’t be legally kept in his home.
But Flatt — who is readying for criminal trial with risk of prison time and $18,000 in civil fines to defend his supposedly soothing swine named Ellie — says that the town’s new laws against keeping farm or domesticated animals are just a bunch of hogwash.
Flatt told The Post that he has “signed affidavits” from “most” of his neighbors who were unaware he has a pig — since it “makes no noise” and doesn’t “stink.”
“She’s cleaner than anybody else’s cat or dog. She’s smaller than just about anybody else’s dog in this town,” Flatt, who is originally from South Carolina, added.
Flatt has also argued that keeping Ellie — who spends much of her envious day snoozing — is anything but a hammed-up act in her supportive role.
“Years ago, I first just got her as a pet, not as an emotional support animal. But after I got her, I went through a really bad divorce, my mother passed away and all these things happened in life,” he said.
“I got used to her being around, she gets up on the couch and watches TV and snuggles up with me, she’s a real sweet little animal and she’s a part of my family.”
Flatt and Ellie have had beef with the local government for years before the unanimous new laws that were voted in Tuesday, the Daily Gazette first reported. The duo has had 14 court appearances in two years, he said.
However, Mayor Jeff Baker says the new village ordinances aren’t meant to single out the pig owner, according to the Gazette.
“The law stands for itself,” the mayor said. “It was on our agenda from years ago. We’ve had horses in the community, stuff like that.”
Though according to the legislation, “a surge of violations of the current animal law provisions necessitates the clarification of village policy.”
Officials in the village, which is 40 minutes northeast of Cooperstown, previously accused Flatt of harboring Ellie inside an apartment in 2019, local news reported
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“They’ve never been in my house to see my house or see the living conditions,” Flatt said, adding that he has “a very nice backyard” and is even remodeling his first floor.
“They’ve never seen her, they’ve never even asked to see a picture of her.”
A year later in May, Flatt also had Ellie successfully registered for life with United Support Animals as his own emotional support pet so, at the time, he could travel back to South Carolina with her.
That following fall, the town’s Village Health Officer Kenneth Riley wrote a letter discrediting the owner’s efforts of having the black-coated babe registered.
“I spoke with the provider who was not aware of the size of the pig or the condition of the apartment caused by the very large pig living there. The provider has agreed this is not appropriate or healthy for the patient and has agreed to rescind her support of his keeping this ‘emotional support pig,’” according to the letter obtained by the Gazette.
But Flatt smells bacon here.
“I spoke with [the provider] recently, they told her I had a 350-pound farm hog living out back in my house,” Flatt said, mentioning that the provider would take his side if push came to shove.
“When we go to court, if she needs to be subpoenaed, she’s completely behind me,” he added.
When it comes to the “witch hunt” against Ellie, Flatt says he has seen nothing but support for his potbellied pet.
“Resoundingly, everybody thinks I’m right. I’ve got slews of lawyers calling me and are trying to help me out with this, telling me they can’t believe that this town is doing this,” he said.
Flatt also believes “they’re violating my civil rights.”
“I have the right to have an emotional support animal as long as she’s not a nuisance and she absolutely is not,” he added, noting he is a good-standing citizen with no criminal record. He faces up to six months in prison when the criminal trial begins on March 22 in the Palatine town court.
Regardless, Flatt said he’s more than willing to do time for his little Ellie.
“I obviously am because I decided to take the jury trial instead of removing her,” he said. “She’s my pet and she’s like anybody’s pet. You come home from work, you hang out with your animals and you love on them. She’s happy here.”
Now, the village is issuing a $25-a-day fine to Flatt for keeping Ellie, which now totals at upward of $18,000 in civil penalties.
“I don’t know why they’re coming after me so hard over my little pig. I don’t see how they can possibly keep spending money on this,” he said. “I pay a lot of taxes to live here in this little village. I feel like it’s very frivolous tax dollars being spent on this, it’s just crazy.”
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