The other day, I came across an unsourced photo on Instagram of a strange animal. I posted it on social media looking for answers because what the heck is this thing?
No one on Twitter had any idea:
@rachelzarrell a bog (bear/dog)?
@rachelzarrell @darth a bog? A dear? A dor? A beag?
@rachelzarrell idc but i want it
A few people told me they thought it was a bush dog, a rare animal found mostly in South America. But... I don't think so.
After some (pretty basic) searching I found that the source was Reddit user TheRedFoxx, who posted the image online last week under the caption "Somebody brought this bear into doggie day care."
But the commenters weren't convinced, and speculated that it was some kind of mixed breed.
Eventually, the original poster wrote that the creature's owners said it was a Pomeranian. BUT I'M NOT CONVINCED.
So I emailed him to ask for some more info. I'll update with his response.
Is it a bear? A dog? A beardog (bog)? A giant cat? A science experiment that escaped from a CIA lab???
UPDATE
Very important bear/dog update: the creature is apparently a pomeranian mix named Bounce, owner Elizabeth Maguyon, who hails from Georgia, told BuzzFeed. The photo was taken at West Nashville boarder The Dog Spot, according to the location's owner, Chad Baker.
"I had texted the one photo to several friends jokingly saying she was a bear," Dog Spot employee Ryan Horn told BuzzFeed. "One friend, Lanier Basenberg, shared the photo to Reddit...and it just took off from there!"
Mystery solved!
