Ginny Fine agreed to relinquish ownership of the big feline at a hearing in municipal court before Superior Court Judge Damian Murray at which she pleaded guilty to again letting the pet run loose in Stafford Township on Oct. 21.
Fine had been warned by Murray on Sept. 12 that if Rocky broke out of her home again, she would lose him forever. That was when she appeared in court for the fourth time in less than a year on charges of letting the exotic animal break loose.
Murray on Friday made it clear that Rocky's status as a habitual offender had earned him a life term at the Popcorn Park Zoo. At previous court hearings, the judge has noted that Rocky broke out at least six times in the course of a year.
"Rocky is going to be a permanent resident of the Popcorn Zoo,'' Murray said Friday, as Fine brushed away tears.
"This should be an end to the tortured history of this case,'' the judge said to Fine."Some things are not meant to be. Rocky living in your household is one of them.''
In addition to ordering the surrender of Rocky to the Popcorn Park Zoo, the judge also fined Fine $500 for the latest offense and ordered her to pay $560 in restitution to the zoo for his room and board. Rocky has been kept at the zoo since his last escape from Fine's house on Oct. 21.
With a cadre of television cameras in tow, Fine hurriedly left the municipal complex after signing over ownership of the feline to Popcorn Park Zoo, a refuge for abused and neglected animals operated by the Associated Humane Societies in the Forked River section of Lacey Township.
Rocky has been in the news regularly during the course of the year, especially since he was on the lam for 12 days from March to April. His disappearance then spawned questions about Rocky's parentage and prompted Murray to order a DNA test on the animal to determine the species of his father.
Fine has represented that Rocky, a 4-year-old animal who has been declawed, is a hybrid of bobcat and Maine Coon cat. Murray in April ordered the DNA test on Rocky after officials with the Division of Fish and Wildlife went to him with their suspicions that the animal was pure bobcat, which would require a special permit to own. Murray told Fine then that if Rocky turned out to be pure bobcat, she would have to forfeit him.
But at another court hearing on May 16, Murray revealed that the DNA test on Rocky, while showing his mother was pure bobcat, was inconclusive as to his father. Because of that, Murray allowed Rocky to be returned to Fine after she paid a $1,000 fine and restitution of $216 to the Stafford Veterinary Hospital to reimburse it for tranquilizer medication used during attempts to capture the wayward animal.
But Rocky continued to escape from Fine's house after that, first on May 31 and again on July 6, landing Fine back before Murray on Sept. 12. At that time, she told the judge she had made extensive improvements to Rocky's enclosure to prevent him from getting out again. She told the judge then that if Rocky had any further escapes, she would voluntarily surrender him.
And, Rocky indeed escaped again on Oct. 21, when one of Fine's neighbors called police to report they saw the big cat running at large.
Fine's attorney noted in court that largely because of Rocky's escapades this year, Stafford Township adopted an ordinance in July prohibiting the ownership of exotic animals in the township.
(Courier Post Online - Dec 19, 2014)
Earlier:
No comments:
Post a Comment