An Ocean County, N.J. resident is headed back to court after her pet bobcat escaped for the third time this weekend.
The 38-pound domesticated bobcat "Rocky" is the infamous pet of Stafford Township resident Virginia (Ginny) Fine.
This is the third time the bobcat has escaped his owner’s home since September 2013.
Rocky went missing for twelve days in late March. When the bobcat was found in the woods near the Jersey Shore town on April 8, township officials temporarily seized the animal and sent it to Associated Humane Societies’ Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township.
In May, Fine was summoned to court and ordered to pay $1,000 fine and more than $200 in restitution for her failure to keep the animal in her home. After the hearing, Fine guaranteed that the pet would never get loose again.
Stafford Township Police, however, confirm the bobcat escaped again on Saturday morning. This time, police say, the animal was loose for about an hour.
The township’s Animal Control was alerted of the roaming bobcat by a neighbor who filed a complaint about the pet. Animal Control issued a summons to Fine for the animal “running at large.” She is scheduled to appear in Stafford Township Municipal Court on June 13.
A DNA test revealed that Rocky is not a purebred bobcat, which is illegal to own as a pet in N.J.
A phone call to Fine for comment Thursday morning was not immediately returned.
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