Like many 9-year-olds, Julian Gil is proud to show off his family pet.
He even will encourage visitors to feed her — maybe a carrot, or some Cheerios — which prompts chirps, grunts and a move toward the food.
"Just be careful,'' Julian warns a visitor who extends a carrot to Maggie, his 70-pound mini Vietnamese potbellied pig.
For the Chandler boy, Maggie is a pet and then some. His mother, Arlene Gil, says Maggie is Julian's best friend and emotional support.
Julian has Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder marked in part by difficulty socializing. Julian is intelligent and speaks and functions well, but he is prone to periods of excitement, his mother said. When he was 6, he also had difficulty making friends at school.
That's where Maggie comes in.
"They are wonderful support animals. That's why we got her,'' Gil said. "She doesn't judge him. She doesn't laugh at him. She doesn't make him feel uncomfortable when he does things that aren't things like everybody else.''
The pig has a calming effect on Julian if he becomes anxious or excited, she said.
The city of Chandler sees Maggie as something different — a violation of two city ordinances that prohibit pigs and other type of "livestock'' on property zoned for single-family homes. In early August, the city notified Gil and her husband, David, that Maggie would have to vacate the property.
City officials say they were alerted to Maggie when a complaint about the pig was filed Aug. 6, claiming it was causing an insect problem and was a nuisance, said Malcolm Hankins, the city's Neighborhood Preservation manager. Hankins said the city initially told the Gils that Maggie would have to vacate by Aug. 20. After the Gils requested more time to work through the issue, the city granted an extension.
