Drink-Maker Asks That Pig Be A Pepper

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Drink-Maker Asks That Pig Be A Pepper

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Drink-Maker Asks That Pig Be A Pepper

Dallas Morning News
May 18, 2001

Facing exile, animal is offered a home - and plenty to guzzle

He may be out of a home in Hurst, but Eli the potbellied pig has a sweet resettlement offer from one of his biggest supporters.

The Dr Pepper Bottling Co. in Dublin, Texas, wants to give the animal – ousted earlier this month in a city referendum – a new place to live.

Jeff Pendleton, the cola company's art director and advertising manager, said he and General Manager and Owner Mark Kloster hatched a plan to house the 6-year-old pet after hearing news reports that Hurst considered him porcine-non-grata in Hurst – and that his favorite treat is Dr Pepper.

"We've offered him political asylum," said Mr. Pendleton, who said his company views Eli as the victim of unfair forces. "It's not a barnyard animal; it's a pet."

The offer – extended this week to Eli's owner, Cindy Wynne – would provide the 175-pound pig with a place on several acres of ranchland in an unincorporated, rural part of Dublin that also serves as home to the company's assistant general manager and a host of dairy cows.

Mr. Pendleton said he and his colleagues are confident that they could provide the kind of accommodations – courtesy of Dr Pepper – that would please Eli. The proposition, of course, includes a limitless supply of Dr Pepper.

Eli lives in a spare, climate-controlled room built for him at the back of Mrs. Wynne's house.

A piggy-door at the back allows access to the back yard.

Despite his tongue-in-cheek tone, Mr. Pendleton said, the offer to make the potbellied pig a permanent Pepper is sincere. And even if the ranch proposition doesn't suit Eli and his owner, they would probably be able to find an equally hospitable host.

"This is a small town in the middle of the country," Mr. Pendleton said. "There's no problem finding a place."

Mrs. Wynne, clearly tickled by the proposition, was appreciative but remained noncommittal. Dr Pepper's offer to give her pig a new abode is one of a handful she has received since voters rejected a proposal to overturn an ordinance banning livestock – including any variety of pig – from living within city limits unless each animal has at least an acre of land.

"Timmy and I really haven't talked about it," Mrs. Wynne said, referring to her husband.

Other offers have come from animal refuges and private residents, one of whom drove from East Fort Worth to the Wynne's house in Hurst to leave a note addressed "To Eli's mom."

Mrs. Wynne said she would consider it along with the handful of other offers she's received. Eli is now under a municipal mandate to leave the city by June 30. Mrs. Wynne is weighing her options, which include staying and fighting the expulsion.

Mr. Pendleton said he understood Mrs. Wynne's situation, adding: "Physically we could build anything, but the love and attention she gives him, I hope we can match that."

By Jennifer Packer
jpacker@dallasnews.com