Their pet should die with pignity.<\/p>\n
A Staten Island family is fighting to keep its dying pet pig at home in its final days but the city wants the animal out \u2013 even if it means taking it by force.<\/p>\n
The Gannone family said 15-year-old pygmy pig \u201cLucy\u201d has lived in their home in Tottenville for years until a neighbor recently called 311 to report the portly pet to the Department of Health. The family is now facing thousands of dollars in fines for having an exotic pet as Lucy receives treatment at a local veterinary clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not allowing her to stay here. After her treatment she has to get out of here,\u201d Lori Ann Gannone told The Post.<\/p>\n
Lucy the pig, 15, is bedridden and in her \u201cpinky twilight\u201d but Department of Health officials said she cannot spend her remaining years in her long-time Staten Island home, the family told The Post. Courtesy Bianca Romero<\/p>\n
Lucy likely only has days before it heads to the pig sty in the sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want her to stay with us as a family as long as she can here. It\u2019s not like it\u2019s going to be for long,\u201d Gannone said somberly.<\/p>\n
A DOH official told the family that they must remove Lucy<\/a>, and until they do, fines could range from $300 up to $10,000, Gannone said. And if they don\u2019t remove it themselves, the city may remove it by force.<\/p>\n But the family\u2019s hams may be tied with options for the elderly pig which is mostly bedridden in its \u201cpinky twilight\u201d years \u2014 having trouble walking with its skin covered in possibly cancerous sores.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand. How is this a problem? My pig is sick. I\u2019m renovating my home upstate. So, she needs to be here because she\u2019s pretty much, you know, on her way out,\u201d Gannone told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cLucy is a 15-year-old, properly registered emotional support animal who has been part of a loving and responsible household,\u201d Staten Island GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said on behalf of her cloven-hoofed constituent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s absurd that this could lead to fines costing them thousands of dollars or, even worse, Lucy\u2019s confiscation. With far more pressing issues facing our city, the Mayor should focus his agencies\u2019 attention where it\u2019s truly needed and leave Lucy alone!\u201d<\/p>\n The Gannones \u2014 Lori Ann, her husband and two adult children \u2014 said that Lucy has been like one of their dogs or cats and only travels when the family visits a second home in Davenport.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no way of protecting her from the bears and coyotes right now,\u201d Lor Ann Gannone said, adding that Lucy would be \u201cbound to die\u201d if brought upstate now. \u201cIf she was younger, yes, but now, no.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gannones were told an anonymous tipster reported them for having an exotic pet on June 14. Courtesy Bianca Romero<\/p>\n \u201cWith the house up there, look what just happened with that squirrel and the raccoon,\u201d Gannone said, referring to exotic pets P\u2019Nut the squirrel<\/a> and Fred the raccoon who were infamously taken and <\/a>euthanized by agents from the New York State\u2019s Department of Environmental Conservation last year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if somebody sees her there in the condition that my outside is, they could call up there as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n An anonymous tipster also called on June 6 to report that the family was abusing their dog, a completely unfounded claim that brought NYPD officers to their home.<\/p>\n On June 14, the DOH received an anonymous tip and opened the case Lucy and the Gannones \u2014 the second anonymous complaint the family received this month.<\/p>\n A campaign to save Lucy has emerged on several platforms online, including Instagram, GoFundMe, and Change. Change.org<\/p>\n Lucy is a registered companion animal and has an ESA number meaning it can legally fly on a plane \u2014 qualifications Gannone was dismayed to hear did not exempt the pet from city Laws.<\/p>\n