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Woman Left Hilariously Embarrassed Saving 'Injured Dalmatian' That Turned Out To Be A Toy

Ciara Sheppard

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Woman Left Hilariously Embarrassed Saving 'Injured Dalmatian' That Turned Out To Be A Toy

Featured Image Credit: Kennedy

An animal lover has been left red-faced after her desperate social media plea to find the owner of a 'dead' Dalmatian on the side of the road resulted in the discovery of a life-sized stuffed toy.

Rachael Barraclough had been waiting for her bus when she spotted what she thought was an injured dog that had been "knocked down by a car".

Making a distressed call out on social media explaining what she'd seen, Rachael said she's hoped her post would "find the owner sooner".

Rachael Barraclough spotted the 'dead' Dalmatian while she waited for her bus to work (Credit: Kennedy)
Rachael Barraclough spotted the 'dead' Dalmatian while she waited for her bus to work (Credit: Kennedy)
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Bekah Irving was is a sleepy slumber when she spotted Rachael's post online. Realising she lived close by, she jumped out of bed to the poor dog's aid.

Within 25 minutes, Bekah had reached the road expecting a grim sight - but instead, she was left in fits of giggles when she found a one-meter long stuffed toy.

It does look rather lifelike!

She instantly put a plea on social media asking for the owner (Credit: Kennedy)
She instantly put a plea on social media asking for the owner (Credit: Kennedy)
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Hilarious though it is, Bekah said she sympathised with Rachael as the "bone-like structure" of the toy even had her fooled from 10-meters away.

Bekah, from Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: "Instead of going back to sleep I thought I'd get up and check it out because nobody else had bothered to go and do something.

"I was thinking I'd only ever seen one Dalmatian in Heaton, so I thought it was that poor dog, and that's the last thing kids would want to see on their way to school.

"There's a vet a couple of doors down the road, so I was thinking that with a bit of difficulty I could pick it up and take it in, and if it was dead they could scan it for a chip."

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When Bekah got there, she made the LOLs discovery (Credit: Kennedy)
When Bekah got there, she made the LOLs discovery (Credit: Kennedy)

She went on: "When I got there I noticed this black-spotted carcass lying on its side and it looked very real. It looked like it had been there for a while and rigor mortis had set in.

"I was standing on the other side of the road and people were just walking past it. I was angry, thinking 'Why are you just walking past'?

"Its head was facing the wall and there was a metal frame inside it that made it rigid and gave it sort of a bone structure and it was life-sized as well.

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"I ran across the road, looked down and it took me a couple of moments to realise what I was looking at. I couldn't believe I'd ran down here worried about a plush toy.

"A little bit of me was a bit angry, but the more I thought about it I realised it was absolutely hilarious and was just laughing to myself. After I posted it, everyone found it hilarious.

"It was very convincing, so I can see why she got mixed up. I felt really bad for her, because she was really worried. I would have done the exact same thing."

She then shared in on Rachael's original post (Credit: Kennedy)
She then shared in on Rachael's original post (Credit: Kennedy)
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Rachael, who originally posted about the 'injured dog', wrote to her Facebook friends: "I was on my way to work this morning and there was a Dalmatian at the side of the road. I'm guessing it had been knocked down by a car.

"It was near the bus stop just past Tesco. Unfortunately it looked like he'd died. I'm so sorry to say this on here but I thought it would find the owner sooner."

Soon, concerned friends were expressing worry on the post, with Bekah commenting: "Just now? If so I'll walk down and get them to the vet down the road to scan for a chip.

"Also what absolute disgusting scumbag driver doesn't stop."

Behak even admitted she was fooled by its 'bonelike' structure (Credit: Kennedy)
Behak even admitted she was fooled by its 'bonelike' structure (Credit: Kennedy)

After the hilarious discovery, Rachael, a visual merchandiser, said: "I was working when I saw the reply to the post saying someone had gone to check it and turned out to be a stuffed one.

"I went from crying due to thinking a dog was dead to crying because I was laughing too much.

"At first I was really embarrassed but soon saw the funny side, and was relieved that no dog was harmed.

"My husband also works at the same place so he thought it would be great to tell everyone and the girls who I work with shared it on Facebook and Instagram.

"So I don't think I'm ever going to be allowed to forget it! My family enjoyed the story, my dad now sings Cruella De Vil down the phone."

Well, it could have been much, much worse. This restores our faith in humanity - even if it was just a stuffed toy!

Topics: Life News, Life

Ciara Sheppard
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