A Missouri city voted down a potential ordinance that would have allowed a local family to legally keep their pig as a pet.

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The St. Charles City Council voted 7-1 to reject the bill, which would have allowed residents to own a single Juliani pig weighing no more than 50 pounds if they obtain conditional use permits from the city, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

The vote came as a blow to Kerrie and David Meyers, who have owned 15-pound Pepper the pig since March and chose the animal as a pet because some of their children, ages 8, 7 and 5, are allergic to cats and dogs.

The family said they did not know about the city's pig ban when they obtained Pepper and have been keeping him at a relative's house for one day a week to keep from running afoul of an ordinance stating pigs may not be kept in the city limits seven days a week.

The Meyers family said they are now planning to move out of the city.

"I will go somewhere that is more open-minded," Kerrie Meyers said.