'Like a child’: Ruby the pot-bellied pig at center of battle with city hall

FORT MILL, S.C. — Nicolle Burrell scattered popcorn across her kitchen floor and watched her pot-bellied pig, Ruby, eat it in seconds.

“She’s very clean and neat. She doesn’t roll around in mud. She doesn’t do much at all,” Burrell said.

In fact, Ruby, who weighs 120 pounds, spends most of her time inside the house on Myers Street in Fort Mill. She eats salad from a bowl twice a day, sits on the couch with her owner when the TV is on, and is also potty trained.

But last month, someone complained about the pig, and the town of Fort Mill issued Burrell a notice that owning a pig was against town ordinance, and Ruby would have to go.

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The ordinance that was created in 1984 states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain any hog, chicken or other fowl within the town.”

It’s the word “hog” that Burrell has a gripe with. She said Ruby is a pet and not a farm animal.

“It’s like a child,” she said. “What if somebody walked in and told you they had to take the dog you had for four years away because, well, you don’t know why.”

Burrell called the town in 2016 before getting Ruby and was told owning the pig would not be an issue.

“I thought I really did my homework and thought it was OK,” she said.

Burrell’s kitchen is adorned with pig décor, and she showed Channel 9 photos of Ruby when she was a piglet. A few doors down, Troy and Betty Moree had no idea Burrell even had a pig.

The Morees have a concrete pig statue in their yard and said they can’t imagine Ruby being any more trouble than theirs.

“If she wants the pig, I hope she can keep it,” Troy Moree said.

Other neighbors told Channel 9 they never smell anything, hear anything and don’t ever see the pig.

The Fort Mill Town Council was set to hear from Burrell Monday night. Mayor Guynn Savage said the council welcomes Burrell and wanted to hear her concerns, but they have to decide what’s best for the town.

“Protecting a town from farm animals is certainly a health and safety concern,” Savage said.

She said concerns range from noise to animal waste and odor. However, the ordinance is decades old, and officials will consider updating it if necessary.

“We’ve begun looking at what other municipalities allow and what (the Department of Health and Environmental Control) says,” Savage said. “Basically, nobody wants to take away a beloved pet. Nobody.”

The code enforcement notice was not a fine but a citation of violation. Burrell said she was given until Wednesday to find a new home for Ruby. She said she can’t abandon her pet.

“I made a promise to her, to care for her. I have to keep that promise,” Burrell said. “She’s my baby. She’s wonderful.”

The town council did not vote on the issue Monday night, but listened to Burrell and considered her request. There could be a decision before the next council meeting in two weeks.

Burrell hopes she can at least get an extension while Ruby’s future is up for debate.

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