'Dead cat' found to be muddy puppet at Guernsey animal shelter
- Published
Steve Byrne said an "air of sadness" changed to laughter when the error was discovered
A distraught animal lover took a "dead cat" into a rescue shelter, only to find it was a cuddly dog puppet.
The member of the public brought the feline fatality to the Guernsey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) for identification.
Manager Steve Byrne said a "closer look" revealed the deceased pet was in fact "a very muddy, wet, insect-covered" dog puppet.
"An air of sadness soon turned to laughter," he said.
'Most unusual'
He said: "When a member of public arrives with what is said to be a dead cat your heart sinks as it is never an easy moment when we aren't able to help an animal.
"There are many rescues and calls that the GSPCA are involved with every week and sometimes they aren't what we expect and this has certainly turned out to be one of the most unusual we have ever seen."
Other GSPCA mistaken identity cases
Report of a sick seal on a beach was a duvet
A black bag mistaken for an injured crow
A stray pug which turned out to be a frog
A dead gull hanging from a fence was a carrier bag
An injured bird was a blonde wig
A hedgehog which turned out to be a pine cone
Mr Byrne said he was keen to reunite the puppet with its owners and described it as black and white with a missing nose and a green collar.