A team of police officers were left amused after responding to reports of a wild wolf on the loose - that actually turned out to somebody's pet. The Oklahoma City Police Department visited a children's day care centre yesterday morning, following claims of a 'big bad wolf' roaming around Pennsylvania.
But after close inspection, the officers confirmed the animal wasn't really a wolf at all, and instead a resident's missing canine companion. The furry animal was a wolf-dog hybrid - 85 percent wolf and 15 percent Alaskan Malamute - and much more like a "cuddly puppy ".
Sign up to our TeamDogs newsletter for your weekly dose of dog news, pictures and stories.
The department released a statement on Twitter to let locals know the pet dog had been reunited with its worried owner.
The tweet read: "The Big Bad Wolf? Nah, a cuddly puppy. This morning a wolf was spotted near a day care at N. Hefner and Penn.
"Officers learned our partners at Village PD had a report of resident who lost their 85 percent wolf and 15 percent Alaskan Malamute pet. The cordial canine was reunited with its owner."
One person could understand how the pet had been mistaken for a wild animal, replying: "It does look like a wolf."
Though others disagreed and appeared fans of the hybrid, with a dog lover writing: "Prime example of don't judge a book by its cover. Happy they were reunited."
Another owner shared pictures of her wolf-dog hybrids and said: "I'm so happy he's back home. Hybrids are escape artists and can put some miles between themselves and home in a short time.
"My three are Sib. Husky-wolf hybrids. They're giants and love to talk, hunt small prey and turn loose to play with neighbour dogs at the pond."
The police department later added: "We weren't messing with the puppy… just responding to a bunch of folks crying wolf and getting the pup safely home."
Many animal lovers across the world choose to adopt wolf-dog hybrids as pets, but it can be difficult with little research out there.
Alida Nasyrova, 31, made the decision to adopt one two years ago and absolutely adores her unusual choice of pet.
Kira is a hybrid of a Canadian wolf and Alaskan Malamute, and lives an incredibly domesticated life in an apartment in Ufa, Russia.
"I wanted to get myself an animal but definitely not a dog, so I started looking for hybrids," Alida said.
"It has been a long process of socialising and bringing up Kira because we don't have competent experts on wolves."
Have you taken home a wild animal mistaken for a dog? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
