
by Phil Prazan
@PhilPrazan
Marshalltown Police recently had to kick two little pigs out of city limits because their owners were violating the law.
Stacey, Tony and Kelsey Dostal live in Marshalltown city limits, where you can't have pigs as pets. They're classified as livestock.
The family argues that these are different: miniature pigs. But right now the law states that a pig-is a pig.
Their two exiled pigs who now stay outside of Marshalltown in nearby Liscomb, because livestock is not aloud in the residential zone that they live in - even as pets.
One of these house trained pigs escaped one day when the Dostals were on vacation.
When the police returned the runaway, the officer informed the Dostals they were violating a city ordinance.
The Dostals want to bring Romi and Mari back home so Monday they're going to present their case to the city council.
"If they don't pass the ordinance for us to keep our pigs, we're going to move out to the country where we can have them," says Kelsey Dostal.
A city councilmember says they'll most likely have to ask the planning and zoning committee for a change. A process that both the Dostals and city agrees will take several months.