Well, at least I think it's a happy Monday. With all this Coronavirus stuff going on, it feels more like a Twilight Zone Monday, (which I'm sure is true for you guys too). I pray that all of you and your families are doing well during all this craziness. Not that you haven't already heard this 1000 times before by now, but take all the necessary precautions to stay healthy: wash your hands, keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth, limit your interactions in public places, cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze and cough...etc.
You might think precautions like those would be common sense, but I think people have been so used to the only consequences of not doing those things being getting a bad cold, (or flu) at worse, that they aren't taking this corona stuff very seriously; but this is a whole different ball game. So, just do your part to stop the spread. Of course you can take every precaution and still get the virus, but at least you could say you tried.
Alright. Enough of my soapbox moments. You came here because you want to know more about today's Monster of March: The Dog Man.
First off, how much do you know about The Dog Man? Nothing, you say? No worries. I'm about to fill you in.
The Dog Man:
This particular Dogman legend is based on the alleged sightings in Michigan. There have been reported sightings of a similar dog/man-like creature in other states and even other continents; whether these are all related beasts, is unknown. Not to mention, some people might ask how these sighting are any different from Wolfman (or werewolf) sightings. Admittedly, there are similarities between dogs and wolves, so one would assume there would be similarities between these two types of cryptids as well. What makes the Dogman different from the Wolfman exactly, I couldn't say. Since we already have plenty of info on Werewolves and their characteristics, let's dive into The Dogman. According to cryptidz.fandom, the Michigan Dogman is a werewolf orwerewolf type creature first reported in 1887 in Wexford County, Michigan. Sightings have been reported in several locations throughout Michigan, primarily in the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula. The creature is described as a seven-foot tall, blue-eyed, or amber-eyed bipedal canine-like animal with the torso of a man and a fearsome howl that sounds like a human scream. According to legends, the Michigan Dogman appears in a ten-year cycle that falls on years ending in 7. Sightings: The first known sighting of the Michigan Dogman occurred in 1887 in Wexford County, when two lumberjacks saw a creature whom they described as having a man's body and a dog's head.
In 1938 in Paris, Michigan, Robert Fortney was attacked by five wild dogs and said that one of the five walked on two legs. Reports of similar creatures also came from Allegan County in the 1950s, and in Manistee and Cross Village in 1967.
Linda S. Godfrey, in her book The Beast of Bray Road, compares the Manistee sightings to a similar creature sighted in Wisconsin known as the Beast of Bray Road.
In 1961, a night watchman was patrolling a manufacturing plant in Big Rapids, Michigan when he saw a peculiar figure. At first he thought it was a person until he saw the doglike features. He pulled his gun and was about to shoot when he remembered his camera and took it out and took a picture of the horrific beast. The photos have not been analyzed yet, and the photo still remains an unsolved mystery.
Another instance of a Dogman sighting involves Michigan resident, Ray Greenway. His run-in is described on the Vintage News website: For a rural man like Ray Greenway, creepy eyes twinkling in the darkness was nothing to be worriedabout. He lived in the area of Manistee, Michigan, a place containing its fair share of critters.
One particular night in 1986 however, he had a brush with nature he didn’t expect. He spotted a pair of twinkling eyes, but something was wrong. They were high in the air, not where you’d expect the gaze of a four-legged creature to be.
To Ray’s surprise, the thing, whatever it was, made a break for him and then jumped clear across the road never to be seen again. He may have glimpsed a bit of fur but, as an article for Ranker puts it, one thing that’ll always stay with him is those “yellow eyes.” In the same piece Ray recalls “that I saw both eyes, as if it was looking at me, the whole time. That, along with the leaping ability, is what I will never forget.”
Despite its fearsome reputation, accounts of Dogman attacks have yet to be substantiated in the mainstream media.
The website Dogman Encounters states that there are two types of Dogmen:
One type of “Dogman” (I call a “K9-Type”) is described as looking like an upright canine. Another type of “Dogman,” which is commonly referred to as being a “Type-3” is described as looking like a Sasquatch with a muzzle, instead of having a flat face. Eyewitnesses who have had encounters with Type-3’s also report seeing claws on the tips of their fingers and toes, instead of fingernails and toenails, the way a Sasquatch would have. Eyewitnesses who have had Dogman encounters also often report that the one they saw was ambulating bipedally, which is obviously an unusual trait, also.
K9 Type Dogman (pic from dogmanencounters.com)
K9-Type Dogmen are characterized by the fact they have K9-style legs, instead of hominid-style legs, like a human or a Sasquatch would have. Instead of ankles, they have hocks. Instead of knees, they have stifle joints. Not all K9-Type Dogmen look the same, though. Some K9-Type Dogmen have disproportionately large heads. Others are more hyena-like in appearance. Some are described as looking like the black Werewolf from the movie Van Helsing. Other eyewitnesses say they saw a Dogman that looked like a large timber wolf, that was ambulating bipedally.
About 95% of the Dogman eyewitnesses who contact me describe seeing Dogmen that fit into this category (K9-Type Dogmen). For whatever reason, K9-Type Dogmen seem to be more prone to aggression than Type-3 Dogmen. That’s not to say that Type-3’s are docile by nature because they’re not. It’s obvious that they’re members of the Canidae family. Other than that, no one knows what their origins are or how to classify them.
Type-3 Dogmen are characterized by their hominid-style legs. They have knees and ankles, just like humans and Sasquatch.
Type 3 Dogman (pic courtesy of dogmanencounters.com)
While this type of cryptid (cryptozoological animal) is referred to as being a “Dogman” by many people, it’s clear that these cryptids aren’t canids. They’re something else. What are they? I don’t know. If they were members of the Canidae family, they’d have hocks, stifle joints and other anatomical features specific to canids. While many people claim they must be some kind of Sasquatch, due to how similar they can be in appearance to them, that also can’t be the case. Type-3’s have certain anatomical features that let us know they can’t be apes, like Sasquatch. Apes (like Sasquatch) have fingernails and toenails. Type-3 Dogmen have claws on their fingertips and toes. Apes DON’T have sharp post-canine teeth. Type-3 Dogmen DO have sharp post-canine teeth. I’ve heard the idea posed that they must be some form of a giant baboon. That also can’t be true, because baboons are monkeys. Monkeys have tails. Type-3’s don’t have tails.
This site provides other information on Dogmen, and also has an extensive section on Dogmen sightings by state. If you want to read about other sightings besides those listed above, you can check them out here:
Now that you've read some of the low-down on these alleged Dogmen sightings, what is your verdict? Do you believe they're something supernatural, extra-dimensional, or just an unclassified type of animal? Some of you may even believe that the people who report such sightings are simply "whack-jobs". As for me, I do believe there are some people who just make up things get attention. But I also believe there are people who've actually seen something that scared them and can't be explained. So, is it possible these creatures exist? Most certainly, (for me, anyway). But what exactly they are and where they really come from, I have no idea. All I know is that I don't ever want to see one. LOL.
Here is the website listing for the other sources used in today's post:
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