TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — While walking with a Kaohsiung MRT police officer looking for its owner, a lost pet dog was mistaken as a police dog on patrol and attracted pedestrians’ attention on Tuesday (Jan. 24).

The three-year-old black Shiba Inu named Pan was found at around 11:55 p.m. by two officers, according to the Kaohsiung MRT Police. They were working at the Kaohsiung Light Rail’s Museum of Fine Arts Station when Pan came running towards them and lingering by their side.

Judging by the dog’s collar and cleanliness, the officers deduced that it was a pet that got lost while being out with its owner. As the dog was not on a leash, an officer used the lanyard of his whistle as a makeshift one to prevent it from getting lost again and walked with it around the museum in search of the owner.

As the dog accompanied the officers on their work around the light rail, curious pedestrians mistook it for a police dog on patrol. When they learned about the story of how it got lost, they helped spread the word on social media in the hope that the owner would see the information.

At around 1 p.m., Pan was finally reunited with its owner, a woman surnamed Yu (尤). Yu was reportedly overjoyed to see her pet, crying, “I’ve finally found you!” upon sight of it.

She told officers that she had been walking Pan when it got lost, and thanked the officers for helping her find it.

Pan's owner is overjoyed to be reunited with her pet. (Facebook, Kaohsiung MRT Police photo)