An expert has identified an animal captured in east China's Shangdong province as a Siberian husky dog; a domestic animal that resembles wolves in appearance, the Shangdong Business Daily reports.

People have been on high alert since a grey wolf reportedly killed two villagers and wounded five others in Tengzhou, Shangdong province on Monday, March 19. Three days after local police shot the animal dead, they captured another animal which they also suspected of being a wolf and took it to the area's local zoo as a 5-year-old she-wolf.

Police believe it was responsible for attacks on seven people, two of whom died.

But a local man surnamed Wang claimed it was his pet dog Lady that he had reared for two years, and who was gentle in nature.

Xing Hao, a local zookeeper, told China Central Television: "Its cry is like that of a wolf and the corners of its eyes are tilted, not straight like that of a dog. Its tail is also straight, not sticking up like a dog, and its ears are upright. All these indicators are in line with a wolf's characteristics."

But Wang disagreed. "It's not a wolf but my dog. I recognized her at a glance from a news photo," Wang told China Daily.

"Her name is Lady and she is very gentle. I have raised her for nearly two years. At around 11 am last Friday, she ran away from home and never came back."

Wang said he now works in another city in Shandong and was only told of events by friends on Friday night.

"I recognize my Lady," he said. "I hope I can get my pet back as soon as possible."

"During her capture, she was hurt badly both physically and mentally. She's very scared of people," he claimed, relying on reports from family and friends who went to see the dog on Saturday.

"It's quite understandable for local departments to do this, as they want to protect local residents," Wang said.

"But Tengzhou is a small place where huskies are hardly ever seen. It's very possible that people mistook her for a wolf."

A vet from Shensheng Pet Clinic, who didn't give her name, said there was "no significant difference" between some breeds of husky and wolf, as they share a common ancestor.

"Most people don't know this and it's very likely to have been a wrong identification," she said.

Ma Jinsheng, a zoology expert, visited the zoo in Tengzhou on March 26. After close observations and a number of experiments, Ma confirmed that the animal was in fact a husky dog.

"This animal's eyes aren't as angular as a wolf's; and the color of its fur doesn't match that of a wolf. Most importantly of all, it's very friendly towards humans," Ma said after conducting a controlled experiment using food. The husky dog accepted food from Ma Jinsheng, while in contrast, a real wolf kept at the zoo shied away as soon as Ma approached.

Ma stated that the most absolute and scientific way to determine the true identity of the animal is to take samples of its fur and conduct DNA analysis.