Cow escapes NJ slaughterhouse, will be spared

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — A cow that escaped from a New Jersey slaughterhouse will be spared.

The black-and-white bovine was running through the streets of Paterson sometime after 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Animal control officer John De Cando tells The Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/IqWC6F) it was like "Dodge City" with police cars trying to corral the 750-pound animal. But the cow managed to break loose.

De Cando tranquilized the cow after it became trapped between a fire hydrant and a truck.

De Cando says the slaughterhouse owner has promised to take the animal to a farm.

No one was injured.