One family thought they were raising a pet mastiff but they were in for a rude awakening after two years. What they thought was a large dog turned out to be something else entirely. We all know that there are pocket dogs and much larger breeds, but the one they had started showing weight that was way beyond what it was supposed to be.
Weight Gave it Away
The size of a chihuahua can’t even begin to compare to that of a Tibetan mastiff, which was what a Chinese family thought they were raising. They are truly a large breed, not for everybody, and can weigh up to 150 pounds. The dog reached 250 pounds and later started walking on its hind legs, which had the family reeling!
More and More Like a Bear
A woman by the name of Su Yun first got the dog from her village – Yunnan in China. The year was 2016 and the pet was eating two buckets of noodles and a bowl of fruit a day. Its appetite was a bit concerning and the more the dog grew, the more it started resembling a bear. The woman eventually had to contact local authorities who only confirmed her suspicions!
In China, bears are sold at top prices on the black market because of their food and medicinal benefits. Ursodeoxycholic acid, which is a chemical found in the bear’s bile, is used to treat gallstones and liver disease. That makes the animal quite valuable.
Fortunately, for this bear which turned out not to be the pet a Chinese family thought they were getting, the woman called the right authorities and sent it to live in a wildlife resort in Yunnan. However, the staff was so afraid, they sedated the animal before transporting it. The move went smoothly and the bear is now happy and healthy.
Su Yun is not the only one to have mistaken a bear for a Tibetan mastiff. In 2018, a man also allegedly did the same. He found a bear in the woods and thought it was a stray dog.