Montgomery resident Luke Villotti spoke at the Montgomery Village Board meeting Monday regarding his emotional-support chickens in the back yard of his home in the 2900 block of Shetland Lane. He said there has been a lot of conjecture, misinformation, and bias about his emotional-support animals. He said he served in the United States Marine Corps and sustained an injury that will affect him for life and he has a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs allowing him to have chickens as emotional-support animals. He said a lot has been taken from him, including his health, future, career path, and now there are attempts to take his emotional-support animals. He said the flock has not adversely impacted the surrounding neighbors or community and welcomed the Board to personally inspect coop conditions and chickens for confirmation. He requested that the Board approve his veteran accommodation for emotional-support chickens and accused the Village of disability discrimination. His wife, Brittany, said her husband’s health has been paraded around like a joke with comments on social media posts. Several other members of the community expressed support for Villotti. Village attorney Laura Julien closed by stating the Village never wanted this situation to be litigated in an open discussion. She stated the Village Board intends only to discuss it with the interested parties in private.
Jason Crane/The Voice