Seal Beach Council to Decide Pig Ban's Final Fate Tuesday Night

The Seal Beach City Council on Tuesday will decide the final fate of what has become a controversial ordinance change that bans all pigs within the city limits.

The ordinance, which received unanimous approval from the City Council on Oct. 28, bans all types of pigs "regardless of size, kind or sex," including what has now become Seal Beach's most famous pet pig, Bubba.

Some, including Bubba's owner Madonna Grimsley, think the change in the ordinance has singled her out specifically based of the complaints of just a couple of people. Under the revised ordinance, Bubba, who lives with Grimsley in her Seal Beach home, would technically be in violation of city code.

"I think it is kind of due to one or two people inciting all of this," Grimsley told Patch on Monday. "The majority of everyone else in Seal Beach is fine with it... He isn't a nuisance."

If Saturday's "Rally to Save Bubba," was any indication, Bubba has quite a few friends backing him up.

The rally, held at the Seal Beach Pier, saw more than 100 people stop by to show their support and get a chance to meet Bubba himself, Grimsley said. Supporters wore "Save Bubba" t-shirts and even carried posters of Bubba that mimicked President Barack Obama's "Hope" posters used in the 2008 election.

"He had so much fun Saturday with all these people... He didn't want to leave," Grimsley said. "He was just a trooper... He is quite the little ham," she said, no pun intended.

Grimsley said she also expects the same crowd to show their support on Tuesday.

"A lot of people are going to be showing up tomorrow night at the City Council meeting," Grimsely said. "I don't think [the ordinance] is going to be passed without discussion... I think the City Council would be too embarrassed."

Proponents of the ordinance, and therefore opponents of Bubba, said that Bubba causes odor and noise problems for neighbors and shouldn't be kept at a residence.

Jared Robison, who said he once lived in the apartment above Grimsley's, claimed that Bubba's smell and noises were a big problem while he was Bubba's neighbor.

"I lived above Bubba for 4 years, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that he is a very loud animal, at any and every hour of the day," Robison wrote in an opinion piece sent to Patch. "I had to shut all the windows and doors to my apartment if I needed to make a work phone call... My boss would often tell me to 'mute Bubba' when we were on conference calls.

However, Grimsley denies that Bubba is any sort of nuisance and said new neighbors who moved in last month didn't even realize a pig lived nearby.

Grimsley also said that she has never been cited by the city for noise or odor violations resulting from Bubba. She did, however, receive citations for violations of the city ordinance banning hogs and farm animals – the same ordinance now bans pigs.

Should the ordinance receive a final blessing from the City Council on Tuesday, Grimsley said she plans to fight it. At a minimum, Grimsley hopes Bubba can be grandfathered in to the ordinance. In addition, Grimsley has also registered Bubba as a therapy animal who helps her cope with her stage four cancer.

"There are days when I just don’t feel good, especially with chemo and being ill and I just don’t want to deal with anything,” Grimsley said. “I see his little face looking up at me and I get real motivated to get up.”

Grimsley said that without Bubba, there would be something missing in her life.

"There would be a big piggy hole in my heart," she said.

The Seal Beach City Council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The pig ordinance currently sits on the agenda as a consent item, which can technically be passed without further discussion along with a group of other items. However, an expected show of support for Bubba may see the item pulled for further discussion.