ohmidog!

An 80-pound pot-bellied pig is helping bring an 8-year-old with autism out of his shell in Fayetteville, North Carolina — or at least it was until a city inspector spotted it.

The special connection between boy and pig was interrupted last month when city inspectors — though no one had complained about the pig — left the family a notice that they were violating a city code barring hogs from the corporate limits.

As a result, the family had to return the pig, named Loopey, to where they bought it, at a ranch a half-hour away, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

Now Lisa Pia is fighting to get the law changed on behalf of her son, Anthony.

“Soon as he saw her, it was love at first sight,” Lisa Pia told WRAL News, recalling Anthony’s first meeting with the female pig they named Loopey. Anthony doted on Loopey and, as the pig grew, they comforted each other through thunderstorms and played in the family’s backyard. At night, the pig slept in Anthony’s room. Each day, Anthony raced home from school to be with his pet pig.

“We were just excited for him that finally, he’s coming out and he’s not in his shell anymore, and he’s doing things, and playing and interacting,” Pia said.

Then came an unexpected letter from city inspectors, informing the Pias of the Fayetteville ordinance that makes it “unlawful to keep hogs within the corporate limits.” A city inspector had spied Loopey in the Pias’ backyard while in the neighborhood on an unrelated matter. The Pias returned Loopey to the ranch where they had bought her. But they hope to get permission so he can return.

The Pias — wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a picture of Loopey and Anthony — appealed to the Fayetteville City Council to review the ban on swine, or make an exception for Loopey as a therapy animal for Anthony.

The city council members voted 6-2  to authorize staff members to research what would be entailed in revising the ordinance. The issue is likely to be discussed again at the city council’s next work session on September 8.

An online petition for “Friends for Loopey” has gathered nearly 5,000 signatures.