When firefighters from the Colorado Springs Fire Department discovered 8 small and black-colored animals in a storm drain, they assumed they were dogs. They were concerned that what they had discovered was a case of cruel and callous abandonment of young newborn Labrador puppies.

That was not what they had actually discovered, however.

Firefighters thought they were rescuing abandoned puppies.

After the fire department received a call about abandoned puppies left in a storm drain, they headed right to the area. The animals all had black fur and looked to be little Labradors.

The crew looked for their mother, but couldn’t find her. They decided to rescue the pups and take them to the local Humane Society.

It was at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region that they learned the “puppies” weren’t actually dogs at all.

“They took them [to the shelter] and actually one of the vets in that location said, ‘No, these aren’t Labradors, these are foxes,” said Fire Captain Brian Vaughn to Inside Edition. “[The firefighter] was just in shock.”

Baby foxes in a den.

“This time of year there are a lot of animals that are starting to have their young, and they have them in small dens that are places that we can encounter when we’re recreating in the outdoors like we like to do,” Saunder told CBS News.

Taking the animals back.

While the efforts of the firefighters were well-intentioned, they also had to be undone. They took the baby foxes back to where they found them and waited for their mother to come back for them.

“These animals are going to be put back where we found them, hoping that the mother is still in the area and can pick up the normal duties like she would,” Saunder explained.

Keeping an eye on the foxes.

Once the foxes were returned from where they had been taken from, the Humane Society watched over them in the hopes that their mother would return. Unfortunately, she never did.

It is possible something happened to the mother and if that was the case, these baby foxes would have stood no chance at survival without the help of the Humane Society.

Once it was determined the mother was not going to return, the foxes were then brought back to the Animal Clinic of Woodland Park.

They have lots of space to move and will be released into the wild when they’re old enough.

An honest mistake.

These little baby foxes sure did look a lot like newborn Labrador puppies. It is easy to see why so many people believed that this was a case of dog abandonment.

A video on YouTube about this story has been viewed almost 3 million times. Many viewers felt compelled to leave a comment as well.

“They’re absolutely adorable. I want one,” wrote one viewer.

You can learn more about this story in the video below!

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Source: Inside Edition/I Heart Animals