Nicholas Olenik often names characters in Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z For all his pets, and when he acquired the emu, the second largest bird in the world, it was no different.
“She looked like a storm cloud”, he explains, adding that when the bird was young he could fit it in his lap. “So we named it ‘Flying Nimbus.’ [Son Goku] Used to fly,” he adds.
Nimbus A clinically certified emotional support animal helped Nicholas overcome depression. However, what the owner considered a beloved companion is a violation of Virginia Beach city ordinances that allow residents to keep pets at home. Nichols was charged with having the cattle within city limits after a neighbor alerted the animal control department.
Nichols — an independent candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 96th district — began a month-long legal battle to decide whether she could legally keep an emu to manage her emotions.
Last year, at this time, Nicholas didn’t even think of getting out of bed, much less leaving the house. In 2019, his brother died of a heart attack. Almost two years ago, his father died of cancer. Nicholas, who was working as a maintenance worker, quit his job when his father became ill. And as time went on, grief overwhelmed him.
Joe Walters, one of Nicholas’ friends, says the boy skipped meals and stopped answering phone calls. When he sat down to talk to him, it was clear that his friend was in a state of distress. Last winter, Joe adopted Emu, an emu living in a motorhome parked in Nicholas’s driveway. Oreo. When Nichols met him, he said he wanted one too—which he found while foraging for eggs in the nearby town of Chesapeake. In January, I brought Nimbus House for 140 euros.
“Only Joe knew I was going to buy the emu. My wife was surprised when I came with her.”
Nimbus It followed its owner’s every move like a shadow. Nicholas put her on a harness and leash to lead her to the beach, where she walked the sidewalks like a dog. Every day he met people who asked him what kind of animal he was. I wasn’t just out of bed, I was socializing with others.
The documents to confirm it include the documents proving the signature of the doctor Nimbus It was part of a transplant, but not everyone was happy to see the large — flightless — bird living in a suburb of single-family homes with well-kept backyards.
One of the neighbors, Donald Sebold, says he saw Nicholas walking Nimbus In the morning and at different times of the day in the backyard. The man, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1997, met with neighbors who wanted to keep chickens but were told by the city that it wasn’t allowed.
“I asked myself why he had a pet animal, and I called animal control. I said, ‘My neighbor has an emu. Is that allowed? They said no, they asked for the address, and I gave it to them,'” reveals
Donald says he wasn’t trying to get Nichols in trouble, but after officers arrived, the neighbor became angry. “I said, ‘Nick, it’s not about whether you have an animal or not. It’s about doing the right thing,'” she recalled, adding that the conversation was “a scream fest.”
Brian Clark, a spokesman for Virginia Beach, said Animal Control alerted Nicholas and gave him a chance. Nimbus Not in town. After the warning period ended in February, city officials charged the emu’s owner with keeping the livestock within city limits, a violation of city code, court records show. Nicholas declared Nimbus He lived and slept inside his house and was careful to clean up when the animal defecated.
“There is no concern about animal cruelty. City code allows companion animals, especially exotic birds, but no ratitae (a group of large birds found in rias)”, the spokesperson said.
Neighbor Donald said that in the months following the allegations, his relationship with Nichols deteriorated. It claims to be the owner Nimbus There is also a ten-meter-high flagpole that flies the American flag and, at times, a phrase that reads, “Let’s Go Brandon,” a well-known expression against President Biden. When he leaves the house to mow the lawn or take his grandson to the bus stop, Nicholas curses at him, and he says he’s scared of him. And, he reveals, every encounter between the two ends with Nicholas makes fun of.
Even so, the former naval commander says that he is a law-abiding man and has no regrets about the emu animal control. “I’ve always lived by the rules. If you don’t like the rules, they change. But until then, live by them.”
Nicholas denies inciting Donald, but confirms that the relationship between the two was affected. “The only good neighbor is a fence,” he points out.
In March, Virginia Beach District Court Judge Daniel Lahne found Nicholas guilty of possessing livestock in a residential area, the court clerk’s office explains. The court ruled that the animal’s owner must pay a fine equivalent to 46 euros.
However, for Nicholas, Nimbus It is not cattle. And Code City officials accused him of violating the companion animal exemption. He asked the municipality to authorize him to keep the emu, a request he says authorities denied in May.
“The emu is not a domesticated animal, it is domesticated for pleasure,” Hannah Sabo, Virginia Beach’s city planning administrator, wrote in a letter to Nichols. The Washington Post had access. “It is considered a farm animal, not a common domestic animal. [Nicholas] does not demonstrate a medical need related to a disability for this particular animal or this particular type of animal,” it says.
The man appealed the decision to the city court. When the prosecutor asked for the case to be adjourned, the prosecutors asked Nicholas to take over Nimbus Out-of-town litigation was processed through the court system. In early June, the owner took the bird to a farm in Cedar Farm, Tennessee, where Joe Walters – a friend of his who owns an emu – visited. Joe agreed to take care Nimbus A legal battle ensued.
In July, at a court hearing, Nicholas pleaded not guilty and hoped to get his companion and emotional support animal back. Deciding the fate of the emu is up to Kevin Duffin.
“What should a trial court do with evidence that an animal clearly defined as livestock is also defined as a companion animal?” He wrote.
The judge said there were no legal standards in Virginia on the issue, so he consulted other sections of the city code and a 2011 appellate case in North Carolina in which a couple was allowed to raise two Nigerian dwarf goats. Kevin Daffon wrote that Nichols was not performing consistently Nimbus This excluded the emu from entering the livestock category for commercial purposes rather than for personal reasons.
“While it is highly unusual for a person to keep an emu as a pet or companion, when they live in the suburbs of the city, the defendant has demonstrated that it is not impossible,” he argued. Nichols pleads not guilty and closes the case.
Neighbor Donald said he’s glad the legal system made a decision and he always wanted things to be made right. He too was glad to put the matter behind him.
“I’m not happy that the value of my house is going down now that there’s a small farm across the street, but I have no problem with him going to court and getting permission. That’s not his problem. ;he was approved. This is my problem. This was the answer he wanted. It’s not the answer I wanted, but that’s how our legal system works,” he declared.
According to Nichols, when the attorney called him with the news, tears streamed down his face. “It’s a case of David and Goliath, and David wins again,” he adds.
But even with the legal victory in hand, he faced a harsh reality: The judge’s decision would not come. Nimbus Back to Virginia Beach. Since June, Nicholas has seen the animal through a passage Webcam observed that Nimbus If you are in love Oreo, Joe’s Emu. As time went by, the camera couldn’t see an emu without another running after it. I couldn’t walk away Nimbus His new friend is because he misses her.
“She’s in a great place. She’s on my best friend Joe’s farm. If I want to see my best friend, I can see my best human friend at the same time.”
Although he may face legal hurdles, Nicholas is considering buying another emu later this year. City spokesman Brian Clark said Virginia Beach officials do not yet consider emus to be emotional support pets and “the locality will continue to follow the definitions of domesticated animals outlined in the Virginia Code.”
Nichols said he could face more charges Nimbus In January, he bought six chickens, a turkey and three ducks. On August 1, July 28, a day after the judge’s ruling, a municipal employee wrote that he had seen a turkey and two chickens on his property. The letter said residents on the property could not keep the birds and had 30 days to remove them. However, Nicholas doesn’t plan to do so.
Meanwhile, she is running against Kelly Convirs-Fowler (Democrat) and Republican challenger Mike Garslake in the House of Representatives. If you win the election, your top priority will be to clarify laws regarding emotional support animals Nimbus.
“He saved me. All I needed was a bird. And there were no side effects, except that the city was mad at me,” he concludes.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”