Family Thinks They Adopted A Rare Dog, 2 Years Later They Realize It's Not A 'Dog' At All

Adding a puppy should be one of the happiest moments for a growing family. When one family adopted its newest member, a specific puppy breed, they could hardly contain their excitement to start raising him. But their excitement would quickly turn into fear as they started to notice something strange was going on with the newest member of their family.

A Bundle of Joy

Su Yun was like a lot of mothers around the world, she was hardworking, and her life was nonstop action. She felt like she had her hands full with family time between raising her two children and spending time with her husband.

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Su Yun and her family were living in China, specifically in a southwest province in Kunming City. Their lives were relatively normal. But that was all about to change. She was about to add another member to their family – a pet. And what she thought would be a happy addition would soon take a drastic turn, making headlines, putting their family in the spotlight, and changing their lives.

A Life-Changing Trip

Like many other families with young children, life can get a little hectic. Su Yun was feeling the pressure, and she needed to plan a little getaway. She booked her family a long awaited vacation in Asia and was counting down the days until the trip came.

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With the big vacation coming up, Su Yun packed up her bags, got her children ready, and figured out all of the logistics for her trip. As she would soon learn, no matter how much preparation goes into a trip, there are always unexpected situations that arise. But no one could have predicted the outcome of a seemingly innocent encounter with a little of adorable animals.

The Fateful Meeting

After months of anticipation, Su Yun and her family were finally on vacation and excited about what was to come. During a walk one day with her kids, Su Yun stumbled upon a group of puppies that had been put up for adoption.

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For a long time, Su Yun’s children had been begging their parents to let a dog join the family. Despite her previous refusals, Su Yun was falling in love with one of the little puppies. After years of considering it, Su Yun decided it was finally time to give in and get a pet. Soon, she would realize that she had taken on much more than she had asked for.

Given A Warning

The man who sold Su Yun and her family their newest family member told them about the adorable puppy they were adopting. The seller warned that the dog was a Tibetan Mastiff – a large breed that can grow to reach 180 pounds and stand over two feet tall. That’s one big furball!

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Su Yun and her family decided to name their adopted puppy “Little Black.” They named him partially due to his black fur and partially in irony based on how big he could become. The name might sound a little funny in English, but in Chinese it seemed like a cute name for their pet. Little did they know that Little Black would become a pretty big deal, and could possibly end up landing the family in legal trouble.

Things Started Off Normal Enough…

The family continued to fall in love with Little Black throughout the rest of the vacation, on the trip back, and as they returned to their home. When they got home, the family had some choices to make about how to raise their adopted puppy. The climate in Kunming City allowed for some pets to live outside, so some families kept their dogs in backyards.

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Regardless, Su Yun and her family decided to keep Little Black indoors, so he could live right next to the rest of the family. As Little Black adjusted to his new life, the entire family was pleased to see that he had a healthy appetite and settled in pretty quickly. As time passed, though, they started to notice some strange things about the newest addition to their family.

Something Was Off

Like the dog seller warned, Little Black did not stay too little for long. In fact, there was hardly a moment when Little Black would stop eating. Su Yun was new to having a dog, so her pet’s diet was a little strange. Every day, Little Black ate an entire box of mixed fruits and two entire buckets of noodles.

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For most dogs, eating fruits and noodles would leave them pretty sick. But Little Black was seemingly unphased by his fare. Regardless, things were beginning to get out of hand with the amount of food he was consuming. By the time Little Black was one-year-old, Su Yun had already spent a fortune on his huge appetite. But this would soon be the least of her problems.

Little Black Continued To Grow

As Little Black continued to grow, so did his never ending appetite. The family that had originally been encouraged by how much their pet was eating was now growing concerned. Su Yun and her family had heard of huge dogs, and had expected their dog to be large, but they were not expecting anything quite like this.

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By the time he turned two-years-old, Little Black already weighed a whopping 250 pounds and was three-feet-tall, much larger than the seller had predicted. His size grew to be jaw dropping. But pretty soon, his size wouldn’t be this family’s only worry as they started to realize even more peculiar things about their adopted pet.

A Strange Sighting In The Kitchen

Sure, many dogs, especially Tibetan Mastiffs, can grow to be a little bigger than expected. But size was nothing compared to some of the other shocking things that Su Yun started to see around her home. One day, she saw something particularly disturbing in her kitchen that set of some alarms in her mind.

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When entering the kitchen one afternoon, she saw Little Black standing on his hind legs. To be fair, many dogs sometimes stand on their hind legs, but only for brief periods, and not like this. For Little Black, he was standing like a human. Definitely not normal. At that moment, Su Yun knew deep down that something was seriously strange about her new dog.

Peculiarities Pointing To Trouble

The standing incident in the kitchen had proved not to be a one time thing. Repeatedly, Su Yun would enter a room to see Little Black standing upright. Su Yun had started to get a little scared, and started looking into her dog and noticed a few other peculiarities.

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Little Black had gigantic teeth to match his gigantic size. Su Yun shrugged it off, convincing herself that all large Tibetan Mastiffs must have large teeth. Then, Su Yun started to see certain facial features, like his snout, becoming more pronounced. Su Yun was in denial, and was shrugging off some of the signs that she knew deep down pointed to trouble.

Little Black Grew Too Large For His Home

While Su Yun was unsettled by her ever growing dog, her children were loving all of the attention that came with having the biggest pet in the area. People in the neighborhood started to hear about the peculiar adopted puppy.

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Taking the dog for walks became a spectacle, as Little Black kept getting larger and larger. As he continued to grow, there was barely any room for Little Black in the home. Soon enough, Su Yun and her family started to keep him in a makeshift dog house outside of their home. But it was not like putting the pet in the backyard meant that any of the underlying problems went away.

The Pet Dog Never Exhibited One Common Behavior

Besides Little Black’s teeth and overall oversized being, there was another thing that was growing a little larger: his temper. Little Black was beginning to lash out at Su Yun and her family, and while luckily no one got hurt, they did get a little spooked.

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That was when Su Yun realized that over the last two years of having Little Black in the family, she had never heard him bark. That is not to say that he did not make noise. Little Black would often growl, but not in the way that a dog usually would. No, it sounded more like a roar. Su Yun was increasingly getting more scared of the adopted animal she had brought home.

As Little Black Grew, So Did Su Yun’s Fears

At just a little over age two, Su Yun was officially scared of her own dog. Little Black had become so large that if he was not already living outside, he would not have fit in the family home anyway. Su Yun could barely keep Little Black on a leash to take him for walks.

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Su Yun was getting worried for the wellbeing of her children and for herself. So she decided to do a little bit of investigating, and started to scour the Internet for more information. When she first started looking into it, she knew for sure that she did not have a normal dog. But when she found out what exactly her dog was she was shocked and scared for her life.

Su Yun Discovers the Truth About Her Pet

After some research into different behaviors and characteristics that Su Yun had witnessed, like Little Bear’s teeth, propensity to standing on his hind legs, and his size, Su Yun was taken aback. It turned out that what she thought was the pet Tibetan Mastiff that she had been caring for was something else entirely.

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Su Yun’s pet dog was, in fact, actually a huge black bear! She could barely believe what she was reading, but every single indicator that she read confirmed her fears. Su Yun was scared, horrified, and worried. She had no idea what to do next, but she knew that she had to do something, and fast.

Learning About Her Pet Bear

Su Yun kept collecting information. Little Black was not just a normal black bear, he was an Asiatic Black Bear, also known as a Tibetan Bear or a Himalayan Bear. This specific type of black bear is known to be medium sized – but even still, they can reach 440 pounds and stand over six-feet-tall.

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While Asiatic Bears like Little Black are usually herbivorous, they can be aggressive towards humans when they are aggravated. Su Yun started to look into what to do, and saw that owning a bear in China was a crime punishable by jail. The mother of two quickly realized she was in a dire situation.

Calls To The Zoo

As much as Su Yun had grown to love Little Black, she knew that he had to be removed from her home. But how does one go about getting their gigantic pet black bear to a safe, new home? She had no idea where to start.

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Su Yun’s first idea was the call the local zoo to see if there was a space for Little Black. The zoo wanted to help, but said that without a birth certificate they could not even consider taking the bear in and giving him a new home. Reluctantly, Su Yun knew what she had to do, and she knew that it could land her in even more trouble.

Calling The Police

Su Yun had no other choice but to call the police and tell them about the strange predicament she had gotten herself into. Within just a few minutes, the police and wildlife experts at the Forest Public Security Bureau were at the scene.

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Su Yun spoke to police and fully cooperated with all of their questions. In an interview, Su Yun told reporters that “the more [Little Black] grew, the more like a bear he looked.” She also told reporters that she was “a little scared of bears.” No kidding. She explained to police what had happened, but it was not until the police went into Su Yun’s back yard that they were truly shocked by what they saw.

Living With A Bear

Police and the forestry officials walked into Su Yun’s back yard an immediately saw a startling sight: a gigantic animal sitting in a caged area. Upon first sight they knew that the animal was definitely not a dog. Once they inspected Little Black, they confirmed what Su Yun already knew. Her pet was most likely a bear.

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Police began to question Su Yun about the adoption, raising Little Black, and where exactly her pet came from. Su Yun filled the police in on the dangerous mix up and told them all about how she had accidentally adopted a black bear. But would that be enough to keep her from almost inevitable consequences?

Getting The Bear to Safety

While the police were gathering information about Little Black, wildlife experts were looking over the pet bear. The officials checked for any signs of injury or malnourishment, and Su Yun stood nearby fearful for the consequences of hosting a bear in her backyard.

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After a preliminary checkup, officials determined that Little Black was well fed, healthy, and happy. Next, they had to figure out how to get the gigantic bear to the wildlife rescue center nearby. Little Black was tranquilized so that he would have a safe transport, and was taken to safety at the local wildlife center. But the question still lingered about whether Su Yun would be penalized for housing the bear.

A New Home For Little Black

Experts again confirmed Su Yun’s fears as soon as Little Black arrived at the wildlife center. Indeed, Su Yun had unknowingly kept a potentially dangerous Asiatic Black Bear in her own backyard. The discovery sparked a ton of media attention with everyone wondering how Su Yun could have possibly not realized she had a black bear living in her home.

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Even National Geographic wrote about the shocking story and caused a viral sensation. But more surprisingly, a handful of people shared stories of their own about adopting pets and later realizing they were a different species entirely. With more media attention, Su Yun was more fearful that police would choose to press charges against her.

The Aftermath of Little Black

Su Yun continued to cooperate with the police about the unfortunate mishap, and it seemed to pay off. Despite Asiatic Bears being a protected species in China due to poaching, Su Yun was able to avoid jail time and the police had said that any penalty would be reduced due to her cooperation.

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The entire ordeal was shocking for the entire family, but they don’t blame their former pet. There are still many days that Su Yun and her entire family miss Little Black. There is still some hope for a future reunion one day as Little Black was put in a nearby reserve. But luckily for everyone, his backyard days are over.