An animal picked up in the street may not always be what it seems, and in some cases even scientists cannot immediately determine what kind of animal it is. Earlier this year, Christina Eit, a resident of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, saw footprints on the driveway outside her home that caught her eye.
The paw prints in the dirt looked like those of a dog, and the kind woman decided to see if a stray needed help, as it was very cold outside. She followed the tracks and found an animal she mistook for a dog on a pile of firewood near her basement. The dog was very cold and did not react in any way to the lady of the house. “She was so scared, frozen and shivering that I couldn’t leave her there,” Kristina later told reporters.
The kind woman opened the door to the basement, spread out a warm plaid there and set out a bowl of food. Attracted by the delicious smell, the dog jumped off the bed, went into the basement, ate the food and fell asleep.The woman continued to take care of the dog for a few more days, and soon the animal cheered up. It was quite friendly and made no attempts to bite the owner.
But Christina had her doubts, whether her guest was really a dog. Though the animal’s face resembled that of a dog, it still looked somewhat unusual. She later called the animal welfare organization Wildlife Works, but when they arrived, neither could they tell whether the animal was a dog.
Some thought it was a coyote, while others were sure it was a dog. Wildlife Works employee Morgan Barron, for example, described the animal as “very shy, very scared and not aggressive at all,” leading him to believe it was a domestic dog. The unidentified dog was taken to a veterinarian, who was also unable to determine the animal’s species identity.
The animal was shown on television, but viewers were divided. DNA testing was supposed to settle the dispute, but it was only possible to determine on the spot that the animal was definitely not a dog. A second test was sent to a laboratory in Pittsburgh, and the reply came a month later that the find was a coyote.
The coyote, mistaken for a dog, was then moved to a sanctuary in Mount Pleasant, where it now resides. After all, a coyote is a wild animal, and is not likely to enjoy the lifestyle of a domestic dog.