Olenik said Nimbus was his doctor-approved emotional support pet, helping him overcome depression. But where he saw a loving companion, officials saw a violation of Virginia Beach rules about what animals residents could keep. After a neighbor notified animal control about Nimbus, Olenik was cited for keeping livestock within the city limits.

So began a months-long legal battle over whether Olenik — who is now running as an independent candidate in the 96th District of the Virginia House of Delegates — could legally keep an emu to help manage his emotions.

Service and support animals explained

This time last year, Olenik said, he struggled to get off his couch, let alone out of the house. In 2019, Olenik’s brother died of a heart attack. Nearly two years ago, his dad died of cancer. Olenik, who worked in maintenance, stopped working after his father got sick. And as time went on, Olenik said, grief swallowed him.

Joe Walters, Olenik’s friend, said Olenik would skip meals and dodge phone calls. Walters said that when he would sit down and talk to Olenik, it was clear he was depressed. Last winter, Walters, who was living in a trailer in Olenik’s driveway, adopted an emu of his own, named Oreo. When Olenik met Oreo, he wanted an emu of his own.

So he got one — scouting out an egg in nearby Chesapeake, Va. In January, he brought Nimbus home for $150.

“Only Joe knew I was getting that emu,” Olenik said. “It was a surprise to my wife when I showed up with it.”

Olenik said Nimbus trotted behind him like a shadow, watching his every move. He would put a harness and leash on her, taking her to the beach to walk down the boardwalk like a dog. Every day, he said, people would stop and ask him what kind of animal he had. Not only was he off the couch, he was engaging with others.

Records show a medical provider signed off on the papers confirming Nimbus would serve as an alternative therapy. But not everyone was thrilled to see the large, flightless bird taking up residence in a suburban-feeling neighborhood of single-family homes with well-kept yards.

Neighbor Donald Seybold said he saw Olenik walking Nimbus in Olenik’s backyard during the morning and at different times throughout the day. Seybold, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1997, said he had known neighbors in the past who wanted to get chickens but were told by the city that wasn’t allowed.

“I wondered, ‘Why does he have an agricultural animal in the area?’” Seybold said. “So I called animal control and said: ‘My neighbor has an emu. Is that allowed?’ They said, ‘No it’s not allowed,’ and I said ‘okay.’ They asked for the address, and I gave it to them.”

Seybold said he wasn’t trying to get Olenik in trouble. But after authorities came, Seybold said, Olenik was angered by the encounter.

“I said: ‘Nick, it’s not about whether you have an animal or not. It’s about doing what’s right,’” Seybold said. “But it was just a yell-fest.”

A spokesperson for Virginia Beach said animal control gave Olenik a warning and an opportunity to remove Nimbus from the city. But after the warning period ran out, city officials charged Olenik in February with keeping livestock within the city limits, which violates the municipal code, court records show. Olenik said that Nimbus lived and slept inside his home, and that he was meticulous about cleaning up after her when she defecated.

“There were no concerns of animal cruelty,” city spokesman Bryan Clark said. “City code allows for companion animals, specifically exotic birds, but not ratites (the genus that emus fall under).”

Seybold said that in the months since he reported Nimbus to authorities, his relationship has soured with Olenik — who has a 35-foot flagpole on his property that flies an American flag and, occasionally, one that reads “Let’s Go Brandon,” code for a vulgar expression against President Biden. Whenever Seybold leaves his house to mow the lawn or walk his grandchild to the bus stop, Olenik curses him out, Seybold said. Seybold said he has grown fearful of Olenik, and every encounter between them ends in Olenik heckling him.

But Seybold said he did not regret telling animal control about the emu. A retired navy commander, Seybold said he is a man who follows the law.

“I am a person who has always lived by the rules,” Seybold said. “If you don’t like the rules, you have the rules changed. But until then, you live by the rules.”

Olenik disputed that he heckled Seybold, though he confirmed their relationship had been damaged. “The only good neighbor is a fence,” he said.

In March, Virginia Beach General District Court Judge Daniel Lahne found Olenik guilty of the misdemeanor of keeping livestock in a residential area, according to the court clerk’s office. Olenik said the court ruled that he would have to pay a $50 fine.

But to Olenik, Nimbus was not livestock. And the part of the code that city officials charged him with violating made an exception for companion animals. He requested that the city give an accommodation for him to keep Nimbus, which officials denied in May, Olenik said.

“An emu is not a domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure,” Hannah Sabo, Virginia Beach zoning administrator, wrote in a letter to Olenik that he provided to The Washington Post. “It is considered a livestock animal and not considered a common household animal. You have not demonstrated a disability-related therapeutic need for this specific animal or this specific type of animal.”

Olenik appealed Lahne’s ruling in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. When his attorney requested the proceedings be delayed, prosecutors asked that Olenik relocate Nimbus outside the city while the case worked its way through the court system, Olenik said. In early June, Olenik brought the emu to a ranch in Cedar Farm, Tenn., where Walters — his friend who also owns an emu — had since moved. Walters said he agreed to take care of Nimbus while the legal battle unfolded.

In July, Olenik pleaded not guilty in circuit court and hoped to get his emotional support pet back. Circuit Judge Kevin Duffan was left to decide the emu’s fate.

“What is a trial court to do when presented with evidence that an animal clearly defined as livestock is also defined as a companion animal?” Duffan wrote.

Duffan wrote that there was no precedent in Virginia on the issue. So he looked to other city code sections and a 2011 appellate case in North Carolina in which a couple was allowed to keep two Nigerian dwarf goats as pets. Duffan wrote that Olenik was not keeping Nimbus for a commercial purpose, but for a personal reason, which excluded the emu from being defined as livestock.

“While it is highly unusual that someone would keep an emu as a pet — or as a companion animal — while also residing in the heart of suburbia, Defendant has shown that it is not impossible,” Duffan wrote. He found Olenik not guilty and dismissed the case.

Seybold, the neighbor, said he was happy the legal system rendered a decision. He said all he ever wanted was for things to be done the right way. And he is glad to put the matter behind him.

“I am not happy that my property value is going to go down now that there is a mini farm across the street,” Seybold said. “But I am perfectly okay with him going through the legal system and getting permission to do that. It’s not his problem; he got permission. It’s my problem. It’s the response he wanted. It’s not the response I wanted, but that is the way our legal system works.”

When Olenik’s lawyer called him with the news, Olenik said, tears streamed down his cheeks. “It was a case of David and Goliath, and David won again,” he said.

But even with a legal victory in hand, Olenik said he found himself confronting a bittersweet reality: Duffan’s decision would not bring Nimbus back to Virginia Beach. Since June, Olenik watched from a webcam as Nimbus fell in love with Oreo, Walters’s emu. As time went on, Olenik would not see one emu on the webcam without the other running behind. He said he couldn’t take Nimbus away from her new friend just because he missed her.

“She’s in a great place,” he said. “She’s at my best friend’s ranch. If I ever want to go see my best friend, I get to see my human best friend at the same time.”

Olenik said he planned to get another emu at the end of this year, but he also knows he may face more legal hurdles. Clark, the city spokesman, said that Virginia Beach officials still do not consider emus to be emotional support pets, and that the city would “continue to follow the definitions of livestock that are outlined in the Code of Virginia.”

Olenik said it was also likely he would face more charges. When he got Nimbus in January, he said, he also purchased six chickens, a turkey and three ducks. On July 28, the day after Duffan’s ruling, a city official saw a turkey and two chickens on his property, according to an Aug. 1 letter written to Olenik that he provided to The Post. The letter said residents at that property could not keep the birds and that he had 30 days to get rid of them. Olenik said he had no such plans.

Meanwhile, Olenik is vying for a seat in the House of Delegates in a race against Del. Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler (D) and Republican challenger Mike Karslake. If he wins the election, he said, one of his main priorities would be clarifying laws concerning emotional support animals like Nimbus.

“She rescued me,” he said. “All I needed was a bird. And there were no side effects except the city getting mad at me.”