The saga of Rocky the bobcat continues - Stafford Township, NJ

[Number9Dream]

snip> "Ginny Fine of Beach Haven West got her pet bobcat, Rocky, from a breeder in Montana 2½ years ago, when he was just a kitten. But today, the way his owner describes him, he’s a 32-pound love machine, without front claws – basically a domesticated house cat, third-generation in captivity – often seen snuggling with his fellow feline housemates. He is licensed with the township and up to date on his vaccinations. According to Fine, he is not aggressive and has never hurt anyone."

snip> "Last Tuesday, when he escaped again, Fine said she was attempting to lure him out from under her neighbor’s deck, when a witness reported it. Animal control responded, and shortly thereafter a number of Stafford Township police officers arrived, armed with tranquilizer guns."

http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/search-continues-for-missing-pet-bobcat-in-beach-haven-west/1160735

snip> "Rocky, a missing 3-year-old bobcat hybrid, returned home this weekend only to be taken away from his owner, Ginny Fine, pending a court date Friday."

snip> “I found him in the woods this weekend and brought him home,” Fine said of the animal, which is mostly bobcat but also has domestic feline in his lineage. “This morning, I went to Stafford Police Department to do the right thing and tell them he was home and was staying with me until my court date on Friday.”

http://m.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/bobcat-hybrid-found-removed-from-stafford-owner-s-home/article_bac95d0a-bea2-11e3-aee4-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=jqm

snip> "Last Friday afternoon Stafford Township Municipal Court Judge Damian Murray signed a warrant authorizing a blood test for the 32-pound animal, now housed at Lacey’s Popcorn Park Zoo. The blood test could determine if Rocky is an actual bobcat, a wild animal which, under New Jersey law, could not legally be kept by Beach Haven West owner Ginny Fine, or a bobcat/domestic cat hybrid, which she would be permitted to own. The warrant was requested by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife."

http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/rocky-the-bobcat-attracts-state-s-attention/1165971

[Number9Dream]

1. Update - Rocky the bobcat is free at last

snip> Ginny Fine, the owner of the 32- to 38-pound bobcat/bobcat hybrid, couldn’t believe the news that Rocky was being released to her custody after an appearance at Stafford Township Municipal Court on Friday afternoon.

snip> After a month, blood tests prove inconclusive.

snip> After the case of Rocky had become national news, an anonymous benefactor came up with the approximately $1,500 required to build a secure pen for the animal.

http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/rocky-the-bobcat-is-free-free-at-last/1184026