Resident has change of heart over neighbor’s pig

Thursday, July 7, 2005 | 10:47 a.m.

Penelope the pot-bellied pig will get to stay at her North Las Vegas home thanks to a change of heart by the man who wanted her out of the neighborhood for good.

The North Las Vegas City Council was prepared Wednesday to decide a neighborhood battle over a pot-bellied pig that pitted two neighbors against one another.

The council never got that chance. Robert Barber unexpectedly dropped his appeal asking the council to deny a permit for Connie Christofferson to have her pig.

Barber said he changed his mind when he recently had to give up his pet dog for adoption because he travels too much. He said he didn't want Christofferson to have to do the same.

"I know how difficult that would be," a contrite Barber said after the meeting, standing next to Christofferson.

Barber didn't even want to refer to Christofferson's pet as a pig, instead calling her Penelope.

Christofferson said she was shocked by Barber's action, calling him brave, upstanding and humble.

"I never expected this," an emotional Christofferson said.

Barber challenged an April decision by the North Las Vegas Planning Commission granting a special use permit for Christofferson to keep her pot-bellied pig in her back yard on Bluff Hollow Street.

He complained about the stench from the pig's urine and how it would lower property values.

On Wednesday, Barber said his neighbor has used landscaping that has reduced the smell and even said he would like to see Penelope up close since he has never been to Christofferson's house.

"You can't be neighborly and butt heads," Barber said.

In January, Christofferson, after complaints from Barber, urged the council to adopt an ordinance allowing the pigs in residential zones. But by the 3-2 vote, council members required that pig owners obtain a special use permit.

Christofferson is required to submit yearly documentation that shows the pig isn't too fat or too tall. The pig is limited to 22 inches tall and less than 120 pounds.