It simply not to be argued that the saying “man’s best friend” is a naturally widely known fact when spouting a topic about dogs. A dog’s behavior, charisma, attitude, buoyancy and their eagerness to serve, protect, shower devotion and remain loyal to their owners are many of the endless proof why dogs have earned their title of being man’s best friend.
Almost every single one of us owned a pet in our homes while growing up and perhaps 75% of them are dogs! This piece about a family and their beloved puppy though, took an extreme turn of events that was uncovered slowly as it was growing up.
1. An Adorable Souvenir
What is better than a well deserved holiday? Su Yun ,a dedicated mother in China, realized that she was in dire need of a vacation so she elaborately planned a holiday for herself and her dear family. The family from Kunming City went ahead with their holidays without any set backs but little did they know, they were about to have a not so little addition to their small family.
Upon crossing paths with possibly the most adorable ball of fur she had ever set her eyes on, it did not take long for Su Yun to dance along the idea of taking the “Tibetan Mastiff” puppy home.
2. The “Little Black” Puppy
Su Yun and her family were so ecstatic to being the lucky owners of this adorable ball of fur that they had named it “Little Black” even before returning home from their holiday. Now you must wonder why they decided to name this puppy “Little Black” instead of countless of other names that are available. But to the Chinese family, the name “Little Black” is just perfect for this cute pile of fluff.
Little Black got his very own collar and leash as soon as he arrived to his new home. His owners agreed to keep him indoors so he was allowed to wander around the house to adapt to their cozy setting.
3. The Chief Chomper
Little Black was a big eater and when Su Yun saw that, she made sure that her puppy was getting all the food that he needed. After all, she wanted her fluffy ball of fur to grow up into a majestic and healthy dog so that she could show him off to others like a golden medal.
This pupper’s luxurious diet included two buckets of noodles daily. This might pass off as a bizarre routine but this family simply had one thing in mind and that is to keep their Little Black happy. Little Black was gaining major weight in just a month and that only brings his owners excitement.
4. The Raising Suspicion
Despite being satisfied with the growth process of Little Black, Su Yun’s family was beginning to think that it was indeed, a little fishy of the speed of the puppy’s growth in such a short period of time. But this thought was quickly dismissed as the only thing that is important to them is a happy puppy and a happy home.
Su Yun was appalled when she witnessed her once tiny Little Black standing with his two hind legs! To her knowledge, dogs are not able to walk on twos and yet her Little Black was doing it all so naturally. This instantly brought her suspicions into the spotlight again.
5. Bigger And Bigger
By now Little Black is now the baby of the family, that is why Su Yun kept on feeding Little Black because he always gave her the impression that he was hungry all the time. He had the luxury to eat whenever he wanted as his owners were able to provide his two favorite food, buckets of noodles and fruits!
At age of two, Little black had outgrown his collar and refused to be pulled on leash. Su Yun ignored her puppy’s strange behaviors even when he tried attacking her because in her eyes it was a ball of fur that she fell in love with two years ago.
6. Odd Features?
Little Black already looked different than all the other dogs in the park as he increased in size within expectations. Odd features begun to catch the family’s attention such as Little Black’s seemingly larger teeth than to of that compared to other dogs. Another matter that bothered Su Yun was that she knew her dog could stand on his two hind legs which made her feel extremely uncomfortable especially with her pup’s size.
Day by day she grew wary of her once little puppy as she feared that he might attack her family. She finally settled down with the thought that Little Black might not be a dog after all.
7. Terrified Beyond Belief
Having big dogs can be neat as it can look like you own a teddy bear-like pet. However, not long after being proud of having the biggest dog in their neighborhood, Su Yun and her family realized they could not keep their dog indoors anymore. When Little Black was moved to their backyard, the dog began growling and standing up on his two hind legs.
The fact that their dog was growling or even roaring got Su Yun and her family terrified and baffled when they finally grasped that their dog was ,as a matter of fact, not a dog after all.
8. Living Nightmare
The red flags that Little Black had given them drove Su Yun and her family to dive into a sea of research and to their discovery, Little Black was not a dog after all but was indeed a bear! Su Yun and her family felt a surge of emotions upon gaining knowledge that their beloved family pet was actually a dangerous wild animal.
While trying to have a grasp of what was happening, Su Yun decided to keep her pet fed although she was always bothered by the thought of the safety and well being of herself and the family if they were to keep Little Black forever.
9. The Spotlight
Su Yun and her family received many attention and to name one of them was the National Geographic. It truly awed everyone in the world of how Su Yun and her family mistook a bear for an innocent dog to the point of the National Geographic covered this story of Su Yun’s family and Little Black.
Believe it or not, similar incidents do often happen in China when bear cubs are mistaken for puppies. It is though uncommon, where people do mistake ordinary dogs and cats as wild animals. Although, many have claimed that people merely use this excuse to simply own a wild animal as a pet.
10. The Rescue
After Su Yun contacted the local authorities, the police of the Yiliang County Forest Public Security Bureau were seen at Su Yun’s home within minutes to handle the reported problem. In China, it was illegal to domesticate any wild animal.
So when Su Yun was questioned by the police who were on the scene,she confessed that she had no knowledge of her beloved dog was a bear until recently and that she was absolutely scared of bears. She had no idea that her once adorable little ball of fur would violate laws and get her into trouble with the authorities.
11. Little Black’s Breed
This bizarre occurrence definitely gained worldwide attention and was featured on many news tabloids such as National Geographic, Business Insider and People’s Magazine with it’s one-of-a-kind incident. Everyone was curious and interested to know how a family could remain oblivious to having raised a bear cub for two whole years.
The local authorities were surprised to see such a healthy Asiatic Black Bear when they came to collect Little Black from Su Yun’s home. Su Yun and her family were dumbfounded as they spent two whole years raising Little Black without even suspecting him to be a wild and possibly dangerous animal.
12. The Asiatic Black Bear
Also identified as the Tibetan bear, Himalayan bear or the moon bear, the Asiatic Black Bear is commonly found in Asian countries including Japan, Korean, Singapore and especially in China.
They are famous for their massive frame, having an omnivorous diet, and wearing a glossy black or brown coat with a white line over its chest that resembles the shape of a crescent moon which can be seen clearly when they are standing on their two hind legs. Unfortunately, these beautiful wild creatures are hunted down for their internal organs that is believed to have medicinal properties in the black market.
13. Black Bears For Sale
There was nothing odd about Su Yun’s encounter with Little Black as the Asiatic Black Bears are most commonly found in China. It has been reported that there are many ‘bear farms‘ that raises and breeds this type of bears in order to put their internal organs up for sale on the shelves of the black market as traditional Asian medicine.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, reported that there are over 17,000 bears bred in 70 farms in China alone. Su Yun knew that the best decision was to leave her beloved pet in the right hands to avoid violating any rules.
14. Em-bear-rassed
After having raised a bear from a bear cub for two whole years, we can say that Su Yun was a little bit ’em-bear-rassed of this incident. She still could not believe that her little ‘Tibetan Mastiff’ was in fact an Asiatic Black bear. And as mentioned above, these incidents happen much more often that you might think it does.
Throughout the years, the local Chinese authorities have reported obtaining many of the similar cases over different parts of China. Due to their fluffy coat and adorable features that resembles young puppies, these bear cubs are hard to be distinguished as wild animals.
15. First Impressions Matter
The first thing the local authorities did was do a check-up on Little Black as a formal procedure. The police and the forest public security team recorded that the bear was one meter in height and weighed about 200 kilograms proving that Little Black had outgrown his nickname.
After ensuring that Little Black was free from any signs of sickness or injuries, they gave Little Black a little tranquilizer in order to safely transport him as he was too big and they did not want anyone to be hurt in the process of delivering Little Black to the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Center for further examinations.
16. A Reminder
Su Yun was given a simple reminder so that she would be more aware when it comes to buying and adopting pets before they brought Little Black to the wildlife rescue center. The authorities wanted to spread awareness as these cases were happening too often in China.
“The forest public security reminds the public that all animals belonging to the state to protect animals, whether hunting, killing, domestication, reproduction, sale, etc., need to obtain a permit before they can be implemented. Otherwise, it is illegal and the light will be made by the wildlife protection department. Administrative punishment may be a serious crime. At the same time, there are still major security risks.”
17. Goodbye Little Black
After having their beloved pet around their home for two years and taken away in just a day, Su Yun and her family admitted that they missed their Little Black although being scared of him being a bear. They knew deep down that it did not matter what Little Black truly was as they have considered him a part of their family after all.
“Although I was a little afraid of the black bear, I have raised him for two years and have feelings. I know that after the black bear, I am afraid that if I am hurt, I will raise the broth and fruit every day.” mentioned Su Yun.
18. Not the First Case
Despite the fact of these bears being a common sight in China, people are still unaware of this matter. As ‘bear farms’ are found all over China, it is not a shocking matter when crossing paths with one of these Asiatic black bears. The sad thing is however, the cubs of these Asiatic black bears are mistaken for puppies.
There are similar stories to Little Black’s that had occurred over the past few years in China. Although we can agree that it is easy to tell a bear cub apart from a group of puppies, the records in China would make you reconsider.
19. A Pattern
A seemingly similar case occurred three years ago when a farmer adopted a black bear thinking that it was a black puppy. In 2015, a farmer from China was strolling around his neighborhood when he crossed paths with an abandoned little puppy and decided to bring the lone puppy home. He then named the cub Scorpion and was happy that his new pet was eating well.
The farmer noticed that his new pet was growing at rate that seemed to be almost abnormal for a dog and instantly realized that his pet was a bear but insisted on keeping Scorpion only to have the authorities seizing the bear.
20. “Small Milk Dog”
This case is now definitely seen as a pattern or a trend in China. Another case that happened in 2015 was recorded when another farmer from Lijiang recused a puppy who he called “small milk dog” when he came across the animal in the mountains. And similarly to the previous stories, it was love at first sight.
The farmer carried his daily activities alongside his new pet. He shared every meal with his “small milk dog” only to realize that his dog was actually an Asiatic black bear. And with a heavy heart, the farmer decided to surrender his “small milk dog” to the local authorities along with Scorpion and Little Black.
