A Peruvian family learned the hard way that their beloved puppy was not a dog at all.
Run Run was an adorable puppy. Then he evolved into a flesh-eating predator.
Maribel Sotelo and her family brought home a frisky, lovable pup from a local shop in a Lima, Peru. He frolicked with other dogs in a neighborhood full of chickens, guinea pigs and ducks.
Then he started eating the animals.
As it turned out, Run Run wasn't a dog at all. He was was an Andean fox, complete with a bushy tail, pointy ears and a triangular head.
"We had thought he was a purebred puppy," said Sotelo, who said her teenaged son bought the animal six months ago a pet, paying about $13 for the animal, Reuters reported.
The neighbors were not well-pleased when Run Run started chasing and killing their animals. Soleto was not happy, either, especially after she had to reimburse a neighbor for her lost livestock.
"A lady told us that it had eaten three large guinea pigs," Sotelo said.
Then Run Run ran away.
The state National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) is now searching for him and plans to relocate him to a zoo or sanctuary.
Veterinarian Walter Silva, who is also a wildlife specialist for the agency, said wild animals are captured in the Amazon by traffickers, who bring them to Lima and sell them.
"Trafficking in wildlife brings these consequences," he said. "Many specimens are captured from hatchlings. For this, they kill the parents, and these juveniles are illegally traded in informal markets," he said.
"In this case a fox bought as a domestic dog," he said.
