Maribel Sotelo from Peru was in quite a shock when she realized the dog her teenage son brought home from the pet shop was actually a wild Andean fox.
? #LOÚLTIMO | Run Run fue capturado y ahora será trasladado al Parque de las Leyendas
Después de varios días, las autoridades competentes lograron capturar a Run Run, un zorrito que fue vendido en el Centro de Lima como un perro siberiano.https://t.co/qfmZ268YEt
— La República (@larepublica_pe) November 9, 2021
Maribel said that her son bought the puppy for $13 from a small shop in the capital, Lima, and was told the animal was a purebred husky.
They named it Run Run and soon learned over the next six months that it was not a husky at all.
In the beginning, Run Run happily played with the other dogs in the neighborhood but as he grew older, she started to notice his behavior changing.
MIDAGRI: SERFOR rescató esta noche a “Run Run” en las inmediaciones del AA.HH. Sol Naciente de Comas. Tras ser evaluado el zorro andino se encuentra en buen estado. Agradecemos a la ciudadanía, la PNP e instituciones que contribuyeron a su recuperación. pic.twitter.com/2Ebo4eOTNW
— MIDAGRI – PERÚ (@midagriperu) November 9, 2021
He began to chase the neighbor’s guinea pigs, chickens, and ducks trying to kill and eat them provoking a lot of anger from the neighbors.
“About a month ago, a woman from around here said that it ate three of her guinea pigs. And then two or three days ago, a local grandmother came and said that it killed her guinea pigs,” BBC reported Maribel saying.
Maribel had to end up paying for the dead animals and soon learned after Run Run didn’t grow into a purebred husky. He was actually a thin-legged, bushy-tailed, pointed head and prominent eared Andean fox.
Run Run ended up running away from home and after reporting the animal’s true identity to the authorities, the National Forest and Wildlife Service in Peru began looking for the animal to take to a rescue center or the zoo.
For five days they searched and were finally able to capture him by using a tranquilizer dart. They then transfer him to the Parque de las Leyendas, a zoo and botanical park in the San Miguel district of Lima where they will figure out what best to do with him moving forward.
“It should be remembered that the Andean fox known as Run Run is a wild animal that was extracted from its natural habitat and was a victim of wildlife trafficking, an illegal activity that affects our biodiversity and is punishable by Peruvian legislation with 3 to 5 years of jail,” the local authorities said, according to Daily News.