At the beginning of April 2022the Chinese city of Shanghai was confined due to the coronavirus. Just then, a woman living in Songjiang District made an absurd discovery in her garden.
In one corner, under a pile of leaves, was a small animal: at first glance, it looked like a puppy dog just born.
Because of lockdownthe woman could not contact a veterinarian or other experts to help her care for the puppy, so without hesitation she took him to casaentrusting him to the care of his mother, a woman with experience with pets.
To warm the shivering puppy, the two used an electric blanket and fed him an IV every two hours. The breathing, however, was always weak.
The sudden change
Thanks to the woman’s mother, things for the mysterious puppy began to slowly improve. One month later the animal, baptized with the name of Jixiang, “Good luck“, has reached the size of the palm of a human being.
With the passage of time, however, things have gotten stranger and stranger: the puppy he looked less and less like a dog.
The sad reality
Two months later, the woman sent a photo of the puppy to a animal expert friend and so the woman discovers the truth: little Jixiang is actually a ”raccoon dog”!
Contrary to what the name might suggest, the small wild animal has nothing to do with dogs being closely related to the volpe.
On June 9, Jixiang was transferred to the zoo in Shanghai where they take care of him as he deserves.
To date, it is unclear whether the animal will remain there or be released into the wild when it is old enough.