The 911 caller reported that the baby lion was walking down Colley Avenue, in Norfolk, Virginia, possibly looking for food, near 50th Street. So police called the Virginia Zoo around 10:15 a.m. to make sure the lions were all accounted for, said Winfield Danielson, a zoo spokesman.
Mramba, the male lion, and Zola, the female, were in their habitats.
As it turns out, it was Charles the Monarch that was out and about.
Neighborhood regulars know Charles, who hangs out with his owner at Daniel Painter’s business, Daniel’s Lawn & Garden Center, on Colley Avenue.
Charles is a cross of Labrador retriever and poodle shaved to look like the mascot of Old Dominion University.
He likes to dine at University Pizza.
“He has a thousand-and-200-some friends on Facebook,” Painter said Tuesday.
Police spokesman Chris Amos said he did a double-take when he first saw Charles at an ODU game. On Tuesday, a Talbot Park Civic League official emailed people to tell them the “lion” was just a dog.
It wasn’t the first time Charles had generated a police call.
Painter said police have told him several times that his dog has been mistaken for a lion. He said he’s taken his dog from his Riverview home to Lafayette Park near the zoo and seen people run to their cars in shock.
“I tell people he’s a Lab-a-lion, and half the people believe that.”
But really, Painter said, Charles the Monarch loves people, children and tailgating at ODU with the official school mascot, Big Blue.
~ Courtesy of Daily Press
Tags: dog haircut, dog lion, dog looks like lion
