Ms. Wang first adopted a small and fluffy white puppy thinking that it would be the perfect family addition. Little did she know that the puppy she was raising would actually turn out to be a wild fox!

Once that discovery was made, she was presented with an awful dilemma: Give up the animal she’d come to love so much or keep it knowing that it would never have the same fulfilling life as out in the wild.
“The fur got thicker when it reached three-months-old,” Ms. Wang recalled of her little fox’s development. “Its face became pointy, and its tail grew longer than that of a normal dog. Other pet dogs seemed to be scared by my pet, so I walked it on a leash.”

Both the collective fear of her adorable little fox, coupled with his growing dislike for dog food, made Ms. Wang seek professional help. In order to do this, she took the little critter to the zoo where zookeepers told her she was actually raising a fox.

Naturally she was surprised, however, in Asia it’s not uncommon to mistake foxes for dogs given that many times foxes are sold under the guise of pets. Often times, foxes are sold off as purebred Japanese Spitzes to unwitting dog owners who are also subsequently conned out of lots of money in the process.

According to DogZone, “(Japanese Spitzes) will enjoy curling up in your lap for a warm snooze,” and while this breed is small, they’re very active and courageous, which makes them “excellent” watchdogs.
After learning about what her pet was, and thinking in terms of what was best for him in order to live his best life, Ms. Wang made the decision to leave her fox in the care of the zoo.

While it’s a selfless decision, any pet owner can appreciate the heartbreak Ms. Wang experienced coming to this decision in order to do what was best for her “dog” that she’d raised in order for it to have a safe and suitable home with the zoo.