Vets say it’s impossible - but to Chinese farmer Liu Naiying his birth is a miracle. For Mr Liu insists one of his sheep has given birth to a dog.
动物学家们称之是件“不可能的事”，但中国农民刘乃应家的确见证了这个“奇迹”。因为刘乃应的一只母绵羊竟然生下了一只“狗崽崽”。
The 'puppy' has wool like a lamb but its mouth, nose, eyes, paws and tail look more like a dog's. His 'sheep dog' even plays like a hound.
这只“狗狗”活像只小羊羔，嘴部、眼睛、鼻子、爪与尾巴则更像只小狗。 刘乃应家的“养狗”的习性甚至类似于猎犬。
The birth has prompted thousands to flock to his farm in Shaanxi Province to see for themselves.
这桩“羊生狗”的奇事在陕西省传得街知巷闻，成千上万的好奇者慕名而来。
Mr Liu told how he found the unusual baby animal shortly after it was born in one of his fields.
刘乃应回忆道了当时是怎样在自家的羊圈里发现这只刚出生的非同寻常的动物宝宝。
‘I was herding the sheep, and saw a sheep licking her newborn lamb on the grassland. The lamb was still wet,’ he said.
“在我准备牧羊的时候，我见到了母羊正在舔着草地上刚出生的小羊羔，当时它都还是湿的。”
When I went up close to check on the lamb I was shocked because it looked so weird, like a cross between a sheep and a dog.
“当我走进一看时便被怔住了，它看起来实在非常怪异，既像羊又像狗。”
‘I was a bit frightened, as I've been raising sheep for 20 years and had never seen such a creature.’
“当时我还有一些害怕，我养羊已经有二十多年了，从来都没有见过这样的羊羔。”
Yue Guozhang, a researcher at Xi'an City Animal Husbandry Technology Centre, said sheep and dogs were different species.
据西安市畜牧技术推广中心的研究员岳国璋表示，羊和狗分属于不同一物种。
'It's not possible that a sheep could become pregnant with a puppy,’ he said. ‘It's likely that this is just an abnormal lamb.’
“母羊怀上狗崽，这是件根本就不可能的事，”他说，“看起来这应该是只畸形羊羔。”