Bluffington, NC – How far would you go to keep the family pet? According to UPI , 41-year-old chicken owner Stephanie Stewart will appear in to court to battle an town ordinance that says her fine feathered friend is nothing more than livestock. If the city decides that the chicken doesn’t qualify as a pet, the woman may have to say goodbye to her buddy forever.
“Growing up in Indiana … I think of cows and horses as livestock,” Stewart explained. “I am not looking to farm, and I’m not going to build an ugly coop in my yard. [Smartie] sleeps in a dog crate in the garage. She mostly stays in my flower beds underneath plants I have out there. She scratches around, and if it’s getting dark, she will peck on the door to come in.”
Although Stewart feels that she should be able to keep Smartie, she openly admits that she didn’t receive permission to keep the chicken as a pet from the town or the homeowner’s association. Despite the fact that she didn’t research the matter beforehand, Stewart intends to argue her case in Bluffton Municipal Court.
The State reports that police issued the citation for Stewart’s chicken after receiving a complaint about the bird. “I will assure you the police department was not just riding through the neighborhood and saw a chicken and issued a citation. A complaint was filed, and the police department responded,” town manager Anthony Barrett said.
Should the town decide that Stewart cannot keep her beloved Smartie, Barrett stated that a reprieve could be issued in this particular matter. All Stewart needs to do is receive permission to keep the chicken from her homeowner’s association. If they don’t have a problem with Smartie, then the woman and her pet could possibly live happily ever after.
Would you go to court to keep from losing your family pet?
