PETERSBURG – The owner of the cow that came to be known locally as “Mootilda” has been fined $100 for allowing the cow to be “at large,” Shore Animal Control owner Linda Gentile said.
Gentile said the cow’s owner, Aaron Bogushefsky, pled guilty Feb. 15 before Upper Township Municipal Judge James Birchmeier to the single charge and order to pay the $100, plus court costs.
“We suggested in court that he pay restitution to the person feeding the cow,” Gentile said.
According to Gentile, Birchmeier said he could not enforce an order of restitution in the case, and if there was to be any restitution, it would be between the individuals.
In response, Bogushefsky contacted Shore Animal Control, which put him in touch with Anne Copeland Merrill, who had been reported as feeding and trying to pen the cow. Gentile said the two have been in touch.
Merrill confirmed that she and Bogushefsky have “reached an agreement.” She said they spoke for over an hour and Bogushefsky knows she is upset, disappointed and angry, but she knows nothing can undo what has been done.
Bogushefsky spoke to the Herald and said his cow, named Penny for her copper color, had escaped from her corral in May 2022.
He said he placed over 30 phone calls, about 25 of them to the police, reporting the escaped cow and trying to get some help. He said he stopped after the police told him Penny had been struck by a vehicle and went off into the woods, where it was assumed that she died.
Merrill said she first noticed the cow in June 2022 and started feeding it and making her own calls to try to capture it.
Bogushefsky confirmed Jan. 3 that Penny had been captured and was shipped out of the county. Penny, a Scottish highland cow, was being raised for beef. After her capture, she was taken to a slaughterhouse to be butchered.
Gentile said Shore Animal Control had issued a citation to Bogushefsky for the cow being at large, after which there were reports on social media saying the charges had been dropped. Gentile said the rumors were false, as she was in court Feb. 15 making her appeal for restitution.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
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