Family Mistakes Endangered Bear for Pet Dog

A family was vacationing in China when they decided to adopt a puppy from a pet store. They thought they were bringing home a Tibetan Mastiff. It wasn't until years later that they realized they'd made a grave mistake. And their dog was not what they had believed!

Tibetan Mastiffs, according to the American Kennel Club, are "watchful, aloof, imposing, and intimidating: The ancient Tibetan Mastiff is the guardian dog supreme. These densely coated giants are mellow and calm around the house, sweetly devoted to family."

The family always noticed that their 'dog', Little Black, had a huge appetite. He ate two buckets of noodles and a box of fruit each day, growing to weigh more than 250 pounds.

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As he got older, he began to look very strange. Their neighbor, Sun Yun, explained, “The more he grew, the more like a bear he looked." But it wasn't until Little Black started walking on his hind legs that the family knew for sure that he was not a dog.

Though the family was very concerned about what would happen to their pet of two years, they knew they had to alert authorities about their case of mistaken identity.

Their pet 'dog' was actually an endangered Asiatic Black Bear. Asiatic Black Bears are a protected species because people hunt them for profit, selling their body parts and bile to be used in Asian medicine.

Trained staff from Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Centre came to take the animal to live there so he could receive proper care.

This is not the first reported case of an Asiatic Black Bear being mistaken for a Tibetan Mastiff Dog. A Chinese farmer rescued a pup from the woods near his farm before he realized it was actually a bear.

WATCH: Family Mistakes Bear for Tibetan Mastiff Dog

And China is not the only country with animals being mistaken for one another! A woman in the United Kingdom adopted a beautiful white dog and brought it home. Soon after, she thought it was odd that her dog never barked and that it wouldn't eat dog food. She ultimately realized her 'dog' was, in fact, a fox! Watch the video below to see what the dog should look like, and what her fox did look like! (It's not a wonder the mistake was made!)

WATCH: Woman Realizes Her Pet Dog is Really a Fox

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In the image below, a Tibetan Mastiff dog is on on the left, and an Asiatic Black Bear is on the right.

h/t: People

Stacie is a brand manager and senior editor for several Christian sites including GodTube, GodUpdates, and the Story Behind podcast. She holds a degree in communications from Radford University in Virginia. She’s Mom to two grown kids and one cute fur-baby cat Natalee. Stacie has served on mission trips from Haiti to Vietnam and Tanzania, Africa. Stacie Marshall is also a Destination and Virginia Wedding Photographer and when she’s not finding and writing uplifting stories, you’ll likely find her dreaming of traveling the globe or at a Richmond venue photographing weddings.