DNA Test Reveals Mystery Animal Found Outside Woman's House

In early January on one cold and snowy day, Christina Eyth, a resident of Pennsylvania, caught sight of fresh imprints outside her home. They appeared to have come from a dog and they led all the way up to her door; it seemed that the animal was looking for help.

Out of concern, Eyth followed the tracks and was led to her basement door; there lay a shivering animal whose identity was hard to resolve. The scene evoked more questions than answers; an indefinable animal out in the cold, suffering from conditions that unraveled themselves before Eyth’s eyes. Eyth remarked that the animal appeared to be suffering from Mange, which is a skin disease that most animals, especially stray and neglected dogs, suffer from.

The disease is caused by different mites and symptoms include bacterial and yeast infections, redness and rash as well as hair loss, which the animal displayed. After a few minutes of gesturing with food and water, Eyth was able to get the animal into her basement, where she continued to wonder whether the animal was a domesticated dog or a coyote. Not long after, she put up a post about the animal on a local message board which was shared with animal rescue volunteers from Tj’s rescue Hideaway.

The volunteers were also uncertain about the species of the animal, but were eager to help. Soon after, a team of volunteers transported him to Wildlife Works-Mount Pleasant, where he would get treatment and testing to settle the question once and for all. It would take weeks for the test results to be disclosed. Despite this, the rescuers tended to the animal making sure that he was cared for. In the weeks that followed the unexpected happened- the animal broke out of the facility never to be seen again. In spite of the surprise, the wait for his DNA results continued until the 14th of February when the animal rescue publicly posted that the mystery animal was, in fact, a coyote.

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Now that the mystery was solved, compliments reverted to Eyth for her willingness to care for the animal regardless of what species he was.

Image Credit: Wildlife Works-Mount Pleasant