Rescued mystery animal baffles experts

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – A woman in Pennsylvania is being praised for helping rescue an animal in need, but wildlife experts can’t quite figure out what the critter actually is.

Is it a dog, a coyote or something completely different?

“I wasn’t quite sure, but its behavior, it was scared and it was cold and all I could think about was this animal needed help,” Christina Eyth said.

Eyth saw paw prints outside her door earlier this week, thinking they could have been from her neighbor’s loose dog.

She followed the tracks to find the mystery animal scared, cold and shivering.

“It’s definitely a coyote. No, it’s a dog. So, with there being so much question, that’s whenever they got the wildlife involved,” Eyth said.

She coaxed the unknown animal into her basement and called TJ’s Rescue Hideaway to help.

According to Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator Morgan Barron, the animal was taken to Wildlife Works for genetic testing.

Even with her training, Morgan said she can’t say for sure what the animal could be.

“Behavior-wise, he’s very timid, very scared and not aggressive at all, which makes me lean toward dog,” Barron said.

He’s being treated for mange and is being kept in isolation for now, but no matter the results, Eyth said she would do the exact same thing over again.

“There was an animal in need, and I feel like I did the right thing either way,” she said.

The results from genetic testing will take two to four weeks.

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