Dog or coyote? Mystery animal finally identified

YOUNGWOOD, Pa. - A mysterious animal that had rescuers perplexed after it was found outside a Pennsylvania woman's home has been identified. 

Volunteers at the sanctuary Wildlife Works in Mount Pleasant were caring for the 4-legged creature, but they couldn't determine whether it was a dog or a coyote. 

"What do you think I am, dog or coyote?" the rescue asked on Facebook last month. "This pup was admitted to us last night. Suspect it has mange and we will be treating it accordingly. We also will be doing testing to confirm what it is!"

The rescue has been waiting weeks to get the results of the DNA test. Meanwhile, people online debated on what the animal could be. 

"It's a poor pupper. I believe that is human neglect we're seeing," wrote one commenter. 

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Another said, "I lived in rural AZ where I was a vet tech and we had a lot of coyotes with mange. I am fairly certain coyote."

One person said there's an easy way to end the debate. 

"Get the paw print on paper or something. If you can draw an x between the pads it’s a coyote. You can’t draw an x between the pads if it’s a dog."

Well, on Valentine's Day, the rescue finally got its answer.

"The results are in! Our ‘mystery animal’ DNA sample came back, 100% coyote!" the rescue announced. 

A woman in Fairfield Township had reportedly found paw prints outside her home which led her to the emaciated, freezing animal.

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The coyote was picked up by TJ's Rescue Hideaway and then taken to Wildlife Works. 

According to comments on the rescue's Facebook page, the animal escaped from the rescue a couple of weeks ago. 

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