Kind Japanese man rescues lost puppy — actually a wild fox cub (VIDEO)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 – A concerned Japanese man received a surprise unlike any other when he took home a helpless puppy by the roadside in the Hokkaido Prefecture.

Or so he thought.

Twitter user @marcy_com said he found the puppy at the “roadside belt of National Road 275 of Tsukigata Town” going towards Sapporo.

Hoping to locate the four-legged animal’s owner, @marcy_com took to social media to ask if anyone recognised the tiny furball which he named Luna.

While many commented on the puppy’s adorable appearance, some had doubts that it was a dog.

Strangely enough, the noises Luna made in one video sounded questionably different from that of a puppy.

One Twitter user asked if the pup was a tanuki, the Japanese name for a raccoon dog.

Another responded saying @marcy_com’s rescue looked more like a fox cub.

As suspicion grew on Twitter, @marcy_com decided to take Luna to a veterinarian who confirmed that she was not a puppy but a fox cub and a wild one at that.

In Japan where it is illegal to keep foxes as pets due to parasites that can harm humans, @marcy_com had to find Luna a new home.

The animal lover took the cub to a fox sanctuary Kita Kitsune Bokujo located in the town of Kitami in Hokkaido.

Luna, who is about one to two months old, is too young to forage for her own food and fend for herself so for the time being, she’ll have to stay at the sanctuary until she’s big enough.

“When it was time for me to go home, Luna was cuddled up with other foxes her own age and sleeping,” @marcy_com wrote.

“If you have the opportunity, I would be happy if you could visit Luna.”

@marcy_com’s tweets on Luna received thousands of shares and comments from social media users who were fascinated by his unusual rescue.