Neighbors Call 911 After Mistaking a Dog as a Lion, Probably Because He's a Lion at Heart

911 received a panicked call in Norfolk, Virginia from a concerned citizen who claimed that a baby lion was roaming the street, possibly in search of food. Police contacted the local zoo to assure that all of their lions were accounted for (“In their cage, playing euchre as usual,” responded the zoo keeper) before heading out to investigate the situation. Instead of a lion, what they ended up finding was Charles the Monarch, a Labrador/poodle mix who just happens to have a lion’s haircut. Understandable. I get confused for Stevie Nicks because of my bangs all of the time.

Charles, a local celebrity according to owner Daniel Painter, apparently gets confused for a lion rather frequently. “I tell people he’s a Lab-a-lion,” Painter says. “And half the people believe that.” Haha, half of the people he talks to thinks a lion could reproduce with a dog — this is really a story about America’s failed education system. (JK, cute joke, Daniel.)

While it might cause less trouble if Painter stopped letting Charles wear his hair like a lion, it’s nice that he lets his dog express himself. If Charles feels like a lion, why not let Charles be a lion? As a wise woman once said, “Just put your paws up ’cause you were born this way, baby.”