Dog or Coyote? Woman Saves Animal From the Cold, Rescue Struggles to Identify It

When the temperatures get cold, many of us keep an eye out for animals in need, and Christina Eyth is no different.

When Eyth, a Pennsylvania resident, saw paw prints outside her door, she thought her neighbor’s dog may have made an escape. When she followed the prints, however, she found a small, freezing, dog-like animal outside her basement door.

She told WPXI in Pittsburgh, “I peeked outside the door, and that’s whenever I noticed the animal on the left hand side. And it was so scared and cold and shivering.”

Her heart went out to the animal, even if she wasn’t sure exactly what it was. After she got the animal into the basement, she contacted TJ’s Rescue Hideaway, which fosters pets in the area. In a Facebook post, she said they came out right away.

Ultimately, due to the confusion as to what they were dealing with, a wildlife rehabilitator from Wildlife Works Mount Pleasant got roped into the mystery.

The organization said on Facebook that they’d taken a sample to figure out if it’s a dog or coyote.

The rehabilitator who showed up, Morgan Barron, is unsure herself, despite her expertise. She has a theory, though.

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

The replies on the organization’s Facebook posts go back and forth, with some convinced the animal is a coyote with mange and others fairly certain it’s just a scared, unfortunate dog.

They won’t get the genetic test results back for two to four weeks. In the meantime, the mystery animal is being cared for and treated for mange. Wildlife Works said it would keep everyone updated on Facebook.

If the animal ends up being a dog, Eyth says TJ’s Rescue Hideaway will care for him and make sure he’s healed up. If he’s a coyote, Wildlife Works will hopefully be able to release him when he’s ready.