Experts have offered the family of Gizmo - the chihuahua that was allegedly carried off by a seagull - some hope after they confirmed that a bone found on a roof belongs to a rabbit, not a dog.
The worst was feared when a bone with some hair on it was discovered on a roof in Totnes, Devon, which is home to a load of seagulls and regularly littered with the carcasses of animals they've killed and eaten.
Gizmo was stolen by the aerial assassin from a back garden in nearby Paignton more than a week ago. Whilst this latest discovery doesn't confirm the worst, it's not exactly good news either. They're still no closer to finding the dog.
Hayley Pfeffer, one of the veterinary surgeons at Vets4Pets in Torquay, told The Sun: "I can confirm it's not a dog's foot and more than likely that of a rabbit."
Ad Viljoen, one of the other senior vets at the surgery, added: "This is not a canine foot.
"The claws are that of a rabbit and there are hairs between the toes where a dog would have pads."
Incidentally, The Sun is offering a £5,000 reward if you think you know what became of the unfortunate pooch.
Gizmo became internationally famous after the alleged incident occurred, and there has been a lot of interest in both the dog and the malevolent nature of seagulls.
So much so that people are now getting tattoos to commemorate the event.
However, at the heart of the matter is a tragic story of a missing family pet. Becca Louise Hill, Gizmo's 24-year-old owner, issued an impassioned social media plea for information leading to the recovery of her beloved four-year-old chihuahua.
She said: "Please, please, please, anyone finds a chihuahua he's mine, a seagull took him from my garden.
"Have a really upset six-year-old missing her dog."
Speaking to Devon Live after the incident, she told the sad story of Gizmo's disappearance. She continued: "It carried Gizmo a fair way as we couldn't see him anymore.
"I have no idea if he was dropped or where he is now."
Despite the fact that finding a rabbit bone instead of a chihuahua leg is good news, it could be that Gizmo met a far more grisly end.
One expert from DogLost - specialists in finding lost pets - posited that the tiny dog might have been swallowed whole.
Wayne May told The Sun: "It wouldn't be out of the seagull's remit to swallow a dog that size whole.
"If it's a black-backed seagull, it would be more than capable of swallowing a chihuahua.
"It doesn't look good. They are aggressive predators."
One way or the other, it's not looking good for Gizmo.
Featured Image Credit: Rebecca HillTopics: uk news, Weird, Animals