Dog or coyote? Mysterious escaped animal finally identified in Pennsylvania

A mysterious creature that escaped from a Pennsylvania rehabilitation center has been identified, but the location of the four-legged animal remains unknown.

Nearly a month after the animal — believed to be either a dog or coyote — was found in freezing temperatures outside a woman’s home, it has officially been identified as a coyote, Wildlife Works in Mount Pleasant said on Monday, Feb. 14. DNA sampling was done to properly identify the creature.

But before those tests came back, the animal escaped in late January from the wildlife organization when it destroyed its cage, trashed the hospital area and left scratches on the walls, McClatchy News reported. It fled through a window in the center by chewing through the seal.

“Still no sightings, though, thinking he is long gone,” wildlife rehabilitator Morgan Barron told TribLive.com.

Barron initially believed the animal was a dog because of its timid and nonaggressive actions, McClatchy News reported. She said in an interview with TribLive the coyote became more defensive in the days that led to its escape.

Christina Eyth found the animal outside her Fairfield Township home in mid-January and she kept the animal in her basement as it was “freezing... skittish and scared,” she said, according to McClatchy News.

After a rescue organization was called to the home, Wildlife Works eventually stepped in to help identify and care for the creature. They said DNA results identified it as a coyote on Monday.

Fairfield Township is located 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Dog or coyote? Mysterious escaped animal finally identified in Pennsylvania."