Pig named Ernest Hamingway lives large in Whitehorse condo

The story of an Alberta family's fight to keep their pot-bellied pig is hitting close to home for a Whitehorse family.

The hamlet of Sherwood Park, Alta., may force the family to give up the animal it has had for four years.

Andrea Merschilz has lived with Ernest Hamingway, a 27 kilogram pot-bellied pig, in her Whitehorse condo for the past year.

She`s watching the Alberta situation closely and says if anything similar happened, her family would be forced to take drastic action.

“We would move.”

Thankfully for Merschilz that won’t be necessary.

The city has granted a permit allowing the animal to live in the condo, and the condo board is in support too.

Merschilz describes Ernest Hamingway as an ordinary pet who begs for treats, goes for walks and gets dressed up in cute costumes.

An allergy sufferer, Merschilz says the hypo-allergenic animal works well for her, but she admits his living conditions are somewhat unusual. 

“Basically for his exercise him and our kitten go out in our hallway of our condo building and they chase each other up and down the hall.”

The case of the Alberta pet pig goes to court sometime early next year.