BOSTON -- The report of a mountain lion being spotted in Duxbury turns out to be a dog of a story, or perhaps a coyote.

Duxbury Department of Public Works Director Peter Buttkus said a contractor thought he saw a mountain lion in the area of Keene Street about a week and a half ago.

The man took photos of the tracks in the snow which were turned over to Massachusetts Wildlife.

However, after analyzing the pictures, a spokesman for Mass. Wildlife said they were canine paw prints. The animal was either a coyote or a large dog.

The sighting took place in a very rural area near town lines of Duxbury, Pembroke and Marshfield, which initially added credence to the reports of a mountain lion.

However in the end, the story had more bark than bite. The last valid sighting of a mountain lion anywhere in Massachusetts occurred in 1858.