We’d all do anything for our children and one family in South Florida is having some major celebrations after they stood up to City Hall for their son and won.
The New York Daily News reports that the family of Kason Ray have won their appeal to City Hall to allow Kason to keep his pet pig.
Kason was born with Down Syndrome and his pet pig, Twinkie, is the only thing that can calm him down and provide him with some comfort.
Twinkie the pig weighs six pounds and is totally housebroken. She uses a kitty litter tray and wags her tail when she’s happy.
“She calms him down when he’s very agitated. He does get very agitated easily. She helps as a claming effect to him. She gives him the acceptance that not all special needs people really get in our society unfortunatly,” said Heather Ray, Kason’s mother.
“I think that’s the most important thing for me as a mother.To see him get that unconditional love and acceptance,” she added.
Kason and Twinkie have a special bond
When choosing a companion for Kason, traditional pets like dogs and cats were out of the question because Kason’s dad suffers from severe allergies. So the family settled on Twinkie because miniature pigs are hyper-allergenic.
However, the local council where Kason and his family lives does not allow pigs as pets.
Two months ago, the family began campaigning for Twinkie to be given a free pass because of how good she was with Kason.
“City ordinance does not allow pigs as pets. Pigs are considered live stock,” said Bob Goehrig, a city attorney.
When the family was faced with the threat of $500 fines every single day for keeping Twinkie, they approached a doctor and explained their unique situation.
The doctor understood how important it was for Kason to have his companion, so he wrote a prescription for the pig, stating that Twinkie is an emotional therapy pet. The doctor’s quick-thinking means that Twinkie can now officially stay with Kason because she’s been medically approved.
We love a good news story like this, don’t you?
