A fox wanders into a pub and refuses to leave. You won't believe the name of the pub.

So, a fox walks into a bar.

Not just any bar. The Fox Pub.

Waiting for a punch line? You'll have to come up with one, because it's no joke.

A real fox was discovered in downtown Modesto, California, on Wednesday night.

Fire and police units were dispatched shortly before 11:30 p.m. But employees of the dining and drinking establishment already had been trying to chase the animal out "for a good while, probably an hour or so," said Modesto Fire Department Battalion Chief Randy Anderson.

The fox was heard and then found in a back room. Not surprisingly, it was good at hiding, but Modesto Police Department animal control eventually cornered it and used a snare to capture it, Anderson said. Even the pros needed an hour or more to get ahold of the animal.

Apparently, no one saw when or how the fox entered the business, so Anderson had no idea how long it had been inside.

Firefighters called the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which didn't have anyone in the area, so the capture fell to animal control. The pub was cleared of customers and staff while police went to work.

The kit fox was put in the back of a patrol vehicle and taken to the Stanislaus Animal Services agency shelter, said MPD spokeswoman Sharon Bear. Thursday, it's likely to be taken to the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center in Hughson, she said.

The fox appeared healthy, Anderson said, and while it clearly didn't like people, it was not aggressive. Bear said the animal was covered in grease, though whether it was kitchen grease or auto grease wasn't immediately known.

Foxes tend to follow the Tuolumne River, the battalion chief said, and it's not unusual to spot them there. How it got into downtown and into the pub is a mystery, though. (Someone call Slylock Fox.)

"We've had animal calls before," Anderson said, "but when you have an animal go into a business that's its namesake, that's weird."

This story was originally published June 7, 2018 at 9:07 AM with the headline "A fox wanders into a pub and refuses to leave. You won't believe the name of the pub.."