SAN JOSE, Calif. -- There is a new twist in the case of a woman who claimed she discovered a human finger in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant.

San Jose police are investigating a woman who had part of her finger bitten off in late February by a pet leopard.

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The woman, who has several exotic animals, reportedly got her finger back in a bag of ice after doctors couldn't reattach it. She lives in a town about 45 miles north of Las Vegas, according to an Associated Press report.

Wednesday, Anna Ayala dropped her claim against Wendy's because it "has caused her great emotional distress and continues to be difficult emotionally," said her attorney, Jeffrey Janoff.

Ayala, 39, claimed she found the 1 1/2-inch long fingertip on March 22 while dining at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose. She later filed a claim with the franchise owner, Fresno, Calif.-based JEM Management Corp., which her attorney had said was the first step before filing a lawsuit.

Although Ayala has dropped her claim, authorities are still searching for the origin of the finger.

Tuesday, an animal sanctuary employee called a Wendy's hotline with information that the finger might be linked to the February attack.

Wendy's has maintained the finger allegedly found in the chili had not been cooked, and that it didn't enter the supply chain as part of its ingredients.

The Santa Clara County coroner's office used a partial fingerprint to search for a match in an electronic database but came up empty. DNA testing is still being conducted on the finger.