It’s been a bad week for Bruiser. Or more precisely, Bruiser’s Pacific Grove owners, Mark and Lisa Hanes.
The beginning of the week brought hope to the Haneses when their case against the city of Pacific Grove for kicking Bruiser out last summer was heard by a Monterey County Court judge.
“I think it was a positive experience,” Mark Hanes said after the hearing.
He and his wife added they were grateful for an impartial hearing, because they felt city officials treated them unfairly last year when the permit for Bruiser was ultimately denied.
But Wednesday night their hope went out the window—and the two stormed out of a Pacific Grove City Council meeting—after the council voted unanimously in favor of a new ordinance that prohibits a long list of animals, including pigs.
“You keep side-stepping us and it’s public now!” Mark Hanes yelled at the council members from the audience.
Earlier in the public hearing the two spoke to council passionately about their pet, Bruiser, and shared a long list of myths about mini-pigs. Lisa Hanes told council that Bruiser serves as an emotional support animal for her.
City staff told the council that under the Americans with Disability Act, dogs, and in some cases, miniature horses trained to perform tasks for disabled people, are allowed as service animals. Emotional support animals could be allowed with a medical recommendation, and a determination by the city manager.
Besides pigs, the ordinance would also prohibit as pets horses, cows, sheep, goats, gulls, raccoons, deer, squirrels, geese and other “domestic, domesticated, exotic or wild animals.”
“Common household pets” like guinea pigs, reptiles, birds and rabbits would be allowed. Bees and chickens would be allowed with permits.
Wednesday night’s hearing was a first reading of the ordinance, which will require a second reading to go into effect.
After the vote, Councilmember Ken Cuneo asked if the Council owed it to the Hanes family to give them some sort of guidance regarding Bruiser, but City Manager Ben Harvey suggested waiting until the civil case was complete.
“I’m going to add, I think we’ve given an answer today,” Mayor Bill Kampe said. “And it’s not the answer he wanted to hear, and we recognize that.”
The final blow to the couple came Thursday, when the judge’s ruling came back in favor of the city.
Speaking before the decision was made public, Mark Hanes said if necessary the family would seriously consider pursuing the emotional support animal status, so they can move Bruiser back home from where he’s been staying in Castroville.
“We're not going anywhere, we'll just keep coming back,” he said.