ONLY ON 7: Fight over pet rooster lands family in court over ordinance violation

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - Whether he’s eating in the kitchen or strutting his stuff in the backyard, Waffle is part of the family.

“It’s just like having another dog,” says Waffle's owner Kendra Wiedbusch.

The 2-year-old rooster is just part of the gang at the Wiedbusch family’s house in Ypsilanti Township. Cats, dogs and children all live at the Hull Street home.

“He’s very loving, smart, knows his name,” says Wiedbusch.

Waffle spends most of his time inside.

“We keep a thing of Clorox wipes and we just walk around behind him,” says Wiedbusch.

But Waffle has ruffled the feathers of some of the neighbors, and that led an ordinance officer to cite the family with a civil infraction. Township officials say families who live on less than 5 acres cannot have farm animals.

"I’m not farming," says Wiedbusch. "He’s just a pet."

But some neighbors, like Chris Cascone, have filed complaints.

“It’s a farm animal," Cascone told Action News. "A pet is a cat, a dog.”

A magistrate agreed with the Wiedbusch family and allowed them to keep Waffle. But township officials say that won’t fly and they're appealing the decision, arguing it’s a quality of life issue for residents on the street.

“They don’t want boom boxes coming down the street waking them up and they don't want roosters crowing in the morning," says the township's attorney Doug Winters. "Bottom line it's not allowed in a dense residential neighborhood."

Cascone says the bird makes too much noise.

"It’s loud, it’s anytime during the day," says Cascone. "I always thought roosters were supposed to crow when the sun came up but this thing will crow at noon, three o’clock in the afternoon."

The family has had Waffle since October. He had been raised by another family as a pet since he was a chick.

Kendra Wiedbusch says she is prepared to fight in the courts so as not to lose him.

"It would completely devastate our family," says Wiedbusch. "We'd be heartbroken."

The appeal is scheduled to be heard in August.