Calls to 911 about a lion on the loose in Norfolk, Virginia, turned out to be more bark than bite — literally.
Dispatchers received at least three separate calls Tuesday reporting a baby lion roaming the city's streets near the zoo, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
More from GlobalPost: Swedish artist under investigation for 'stealing Holocaust ashes'
“I’d like to report a lion sighting,” one caller said.
“Say that again?” a dispatcher replied, according to recordings obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.
“There was a lion that ran across the street — a baby lion," one woman said. "It was about the size of a Labrador retriever.”
More from GlobalPost: Well-traveled toilets: Adolf Hitler's commodes made an American odyssey
But instead of a lion, the animal in question was Charles the Monarch, a labradoodle with a lion-like haircut in honor of Old Dominion University's mascot, who was out for a stroll.
His owner, Daniel Painter, told the newspaper this isn't the first time Charles has been mistaken for the real thing.
"I tell people he's a Lab-a-lion, and half the people believe that," he said.
Charles is also something of a social media sensation. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 4,200 people had "liked" his page on Facebook.