A dog shaved to look like a lion is so convincing that neighbors freaked out and called 911 to come pick him up.
“There was a lion that ran across the street. A baby lion. It was about the size of a Labrador retriever,” said one woman when she called emergency services.
She wasn’t the only one; several people on the neighborhood street called about the dog, suggesting perhaps it was a baby lion that had escaped from the zoo and was looking for food.
Daniel Painter, the dog’s owner, says he groomed the dog to look like the local university’s mascot; he lives in Norfolk, Virginia and admits this isn’t the first time people have been scared by the labra-doodle, which has a very convincing mane.
“I tell people he’s a Lab-a-lion,” Painter said. “And half the people believe that.”
The dog, Charles, is safe at home with Painter, but there’s a good chance this won’t be the last time he’s mistaken for a dangerous animal.