A pet golden retriever is mistaken for a tiger by some villagers in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by Knews

After arming themselves to the teeth to catch a tiger reported by a local resident in a village in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, police found that the wild cat on the loose was just someone's pet dog, reported The Paper on Wednesday. 

According to the villager, who was barely coherent when he made the phone call, someone saw a tiger in the wood and took a blurry photo of the "beast" which was then widely circulated in the neighborhood. 

The local police immediately took up arms, rushed to the scene and evacuated nearby residents before the showdown with the tiger. 

However, after an extensive search, they were unable to find any trace of the animal.

Later, the owner of a nearby restaurant approached the police and suggested that the tiger may have been his pet golden retriever, which police confirmed was the case after careful checking. 

The owner explained that the dog was very big, and could have been mistaken for a tiger when it was wandering around the village at night.