New Family Member
Su Yun was a middle-aged woman who lived in Kunming City, China. She was a hardworking mother who worked for long shifts while raising her two children. Luckily, her husband also collaborated with the household chores and in bringing up the kids.
They lived an ordinary life, but one day, things started to change. It all began when she thought of adopting a dog, something she had been considering for quite a long time. But little did she know that this cute little pet would turn her life upside down.
Summer Getaway
Before adopting their pet, Su Yun and her family decided to go on a trip. The truth was that their life was quite hectic, so they were really longing a relaxing vacation in the middle of the beach. They booked tickets to Southeast Asia and began counting down the days till the trip.
Su Yun began packing her and her children’s bags and organized the logistics for the trip. But you know what they say, no matter how thoroughly you plan a trip, unexpected events always arise. But never would have she imagined what was coming.
Adoption Day
After months of planning their Southeast Asia trip, the day finally came. But on their first week, while Su Yun, her husband, and her children were walking along the streets of Bangkok, they stumbled across a group of puppies that were up for adoption.
Su Yun’s children had been begging her to adopt a puppy for quite a long time, and Su Yun herself had been considering this option. But while adopting a pet on vacations sounded like a lousy idea for her, Su Yun ended up falling in love with one of those pups. After really thinking it through, she gave in and adopted the little pooch. The family was full of glee, but little did they know what was about to happen.
Little Black
Before adopting the little pooch, So Yun asked the dogs’ owner a bit about them. The man told them that it was a Tibetan Mastiff, one of the largest breeds in the world that can reach up to 180 pounds and up to two feet tall.
In spite of the warning, the family decided to take the pooch in and took him to their hometown in China. They named him Little Black, in part due to his black fur, and in part in irony due to how large he would probably grow to be. They were happy for having a dog in their family, but little did they know that destiny had other plans.
Choices To Make
When Su Yun and her family returned to their home, there were some choices they had to make regarding how to raise their new pup. For instance, where would he sleep? Outside? With the kids? Out in the street? Even though most families in their neighborhood chose to keep their pets in their backyard, Su Yun decided to keep Little Black indoors.
The family also had to find the little pooch a vet. They took him to the one nearest to their home, and luckily, the vet found him as healthy as ever. Plus, the family was happy to see that the doggo had adapted quickly to his new home, not to mention his super healthy appetite!
Wolfing The Food Down
Just like his former owner had warned, Little Black didn’t stay small for too long. On the very contrary, he didn’t stop growing and would literally eat all day. But since this was Su Yun’s very first pet, she kept wondering: did all dogs eat that much? He would practically eat an entire box of fruits and a couple of buckets of noodles each day!
Let’s put it straight: if an ordinary dog ate fruits and noodles on a daily basis, it would end up pretty sick, to say the least. However, despite the amount of food he ate, Little Black seemed alive and kicking. By the time the pooch was one year old, the family had already spent fortunes just on food. But this soon proved to be the smallest of all problems.
3-Foot Doggo
As the pooch continued to grow, the family started growing a bit worried. They saw several vets and all of them agreed that it was extremely strange for a dog to eat that much. What is more, the dog never stopped growing, until reaching humongous proportions. But how big, exactly? Well, take a peek at this photo!
When Little Black turned two, he weighed nearly 250 pounds and was over 3 feet tall, way larger than what his former owner had warned them. But the creature’s size wasn’t the only problem, as he soon started behaving in some very peculiar ways.
Something Wasn’t Right
It was hard enough for the family to grow used to the dog’s size, but one day, things reached a whole new level. One morning, Su Yun entered the kitchen and was left speechless. Her dog was behaving in an unusual way and she knew something was not right.
Su Yun witnessed how Little Black stood on his hind legs as if he were a human. Even though some dogs can actually manage to stand on their hind legs, they can only do so for short periods of time. However, Su Yun saw his pet standing like a person for at least a couple of minutes. She knew something wasn’t right with her dog and she needed to find out the answer.
A Dog With Unusual Features
The incident in the kitchen wasn’t a one-time thing. On the very contrary, Little Black began walking on his hind legs on a regular basis. Su Yun began to feel scared, just as she started noticing some other peculiarities.
To begin with, the giant pooch had enormous teeth. At first, Su Yun figured that the size of the teeth was normal considering how big Tibetan Mastiffs are. But then, she began to notice some other unusual physical traits. For instance, the animal’s snout became more pronounced. What was going on?
The Talk Of The Town
While Su Yun was deeply worried about her super-sized dog, the children were having the time of their lives. The truth was that Little Black had become the most popular dog in town and it was all the neighbors talked about.
As you can imagine, taking the dog for a walk attracted a great deal of attention from their neighbors, most of whom were left speechless. Others, however, immediately grabbed their phones to take some pictures as soon as they saw him.
Outdoors
But Little Black’s size became a serious issue, to the point in which he could no longer be kept indoors. There was just no room for him in the kitchen, as he kept bumping into the furniture and even breaking some decorations.
Thus, Su Yun decided to purchase a dog house so that Little Black could sleep in the backyard. Even though this made their daily life way easier, it didn’t mean that all their problems would just magically go away.
Barkless Dog
But not only were his teeth growing bigger, but his temper was getting larger too. The dog began to hit out against Su Yun and the kids, but even though they never got hurt, they started to feel scared. Can you blame them?
But that was when the penny finally dropped. All of a sudden, Su Yun realized that in two whole years, she had never heard her dog bark. On the contrary, he would often growl, but not in the way that dogs tend to. In fact, his growl sounded more like a roar! The family began to doubt whether Little Black really was a dog.
Super-Sized Pet
By the time Little Black turned 2 and a half, Su Yun was already scared of his own pet. He could barely fit through the door and keeping him on a leash was practically impossible. By this time, she began to feel quite worried about her children’s safety.
Therefore, Yun began to look up some information on the Internet. She didn’t know what her dog’s problem was, but she did know that something wasn’t right. But shivers ran down her spine when she discovered the truth. Thanks to the Internet, she found out what her dog really was.
A Huge Black Bear!
After doing some research regarding Little Black’s behaviors and physical features – such as his large teeth and his propensity of standing on his hind legs – Su reached a frightening conclusion. She had always thought their pet was a Tibetan Mastiff, but it turned out he was something else!
It turned out that his pet was not a dog, but a black bear! She was awestruck, but the truth was that every indicator she read on the Internet confirmed her suspicions. She was both scared and worried and wasn’t sure how to deal with the problem. All she knew was that she had to act quickly.
A Threat To The Household
Su kept on looking for further information and contacted a few specialists. As it turned out, Little Black wasn’t even an ordinary black bear, but an Asiatic Black Bear, also known as the Himalayan Bear or Tibetan Bear. Although they are medium-sized bears, they’re definitely humongous underdog standards!
This species can grow up to 440 pounds and up to six feet tall. Furthermore, even though they are herbivores, they can be aggressive towards other animals, including humans. As if this weren’t enough, owning a bear was considered an offense punishable by law in China.
Finding Him A Home
Despite the fact that Su Yun and her family had grown very fond of Little Black, they all knew that they had to find him a new home. There was no way he could be kept and raised as a domestic pet, and this was a fact. But how would they ever find a safe place for him to live?
Yun’s first plan was to contact the local zoo and see if they would take him in. Unfortunately, the zoo authorities said they would not accept him if he didn’t have a birth certificate. Su Yun realized she had one other choice left. Can you guess who she called?
Plan B
Once handing him over to the zoo was out of the table, Su Yun felt she had no choice but to call the police. Sure, this could possibly get her into further trouble, but what other choice did she have? Hopefully, they would be understanding.
She called the police and told them about the strange situation she had gotten herself into, and in a matter of minutes, the local officials and the experts from the Forest Public Security Bureau showed up at her door.
The Interrogation
Su Yun had to go through a thorough interrogation, but she was willing to cooperate with all the questions they asked her. After all, she had nothing wrong and had nothing to hide! Reportedly, she told the police authorities that "the more [Little Black] grew, the more like a bear he looked".
At first, the police were left in disbelief, and it wasn’t until they went to Su Yun’s backyard that they understood she wasn’t lying. They were truly astonished when they saw the giant bear standing right there in front of them.
Nothing But The Truth
When the police saw that enormous creature sitting inside a cage, they realized Su Yun had not lied in the interrogation: there was no way that could be a dog. And once the wildlife experts inspected him, they confirmed he was, indeed, a black bear.
The police authorities questioned Su Yun about where and how she had adopted the creature and how she had raised him. She told them the truth, but deep down she was terrified: would the truth be enough to keep her out of jail?
Preliminary Checkups
While the police interrogated her in her living room, the wildlife experts further inspected Little Black, especially to make sure whether he had any injury of some sort. After this first checkup, the experts confirmed that the bear was well-nourished and healthy as he could be.
But now came the difficult part. The police had to figure out how they could find the bear a place in any of the wildlife rescue centers near town. So many questions were still left unanswered! Where would Little Black go? And what about Su Yun? Would she be penalized? Would she be fined or imprisoned?
Media Coverage
Luckily, the police authorities soon found a home for Little Black. He was taken to a wildlife center, whose experts confirmed once again he was indeed an Asiatic Black Bear. Little Black’s first day at the center received widespread media coverage. Obviously!
In fact, even National Geographic covered the story, and nobody could believe Su Yun had never noticed she had had a bear in her house for over two years. But guess what? After the news spread, many other people began sharing their own stories of adopting pets and then realizing they were actually a different species.
Happy Ending
Even though black bears are among the list of protected species in China, Su Yun was deemed innocent and thus avoided jail. The police said that any potential penalty would be reduced thanks to her great cooperation.
This whole experience was a living nightmare for this innocent family, but they knew Little Black wasn’t to blame. In fact, more often than not, they even miss him! They still hope they can pay him a visit to the wildlife reserve and reunite. But despite these mixed feelings, there’s something they’re definitely glad about: they no longer have a wild giant bear roaming in their backyard!