An animal dubbed the Beast of Dartmoor after photos were taken of a hairy four-legged creature was actually a pet dog, its owner claims.
Newfoundland Troy, who weighs 12 stone (76kg), is no man-eater, said her owner Lucinda Reid from Heathfield.
"He's a gentle giant. My five-year old daughter lies on top of him," she said.
The mystery of the "beast" arose after falconer Martin Whitley took a picture of a wandering figure near Hound Tor. He maintains it was a big cat.
The photo of a black-haired animal near a group of schoolchildren could be a wild boar, some said.
Others conjectured it could be a big cat or a weird new hybrid.
"He's a gentle giant"
School cook Mrs Reid, 36, told BBC News: "When I saw the photo I thought it was like a Newfoundland.
"Then I saw that it was Hounds Tor where we go every weekend.
"It had to be Troy. I have never seen another Newfoundland up on the moor."
She said that Troy's black coat and large size led some people to call him a bear.
But he was not the least grizzly.
"My five year-old daughter Summer lies on top of him.
"Some people are quite scared of him because he's so big, but he's a gentle giant."
Mr Whitley is adamant that the creature in his photograph is most likely a big cat roaming the moor.
He said: ''We have most definitely discounted it as a Newfoundland. Its whole figure was wrong and the coat was a different texture.
''The creature I saw was black and grey and comparable in size to a miniature pony. It had very thick shoulders, a long, thick tail with a blunt end and small round ears."
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