PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- City officials in Gladstone, Ore., say a man can keep a 16-year-old pet lynx while a state legislator works to change a law that bans keeping wild animals.
Patrick Clark, 43, has spent months battling to keep the lynx, Sosha, he has owned since she was 10 days old.
Gladstone city councilors voted 5-1 Tuesday to allow Clark to keep the declawed feline until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, the (Portland) Oregonian reported.
The city had set a Thursday deadline for Clark, but agreed to the extension after Republican state Sen. Alan Olsen said he would introduce legislation to allow Clark to keep Sosha.
Olsen told the council a 2009 state law banning the keeping of exotic pets did not allow for exceptions. He said an amendment to allow the state Department of Agriculture to grant exceptions could be passed in the upcoming session.
Clark said he hadn't heard of the law until a new neighbor filed a complaint with the city.
