A western North Carolina resident contacted me concerning an encounter that they has with an unknown canine creature. After researching the encounter, the witness believes that it was a Dogman.
I had my encounter last summer while on break at work during a slow part of the night. I live and work in Mitchell County in western North Carolina. This is a county that you have written about since you have family here and you are aware of the varied wildlife. I would take the short drive to a park near my workplace that has a lot of wildlife. I like to watch the occasional raccoon or fox breaking the wood line. The park backs up to a rather large creek. The area is devoid of artificial light as the darkness of the woods does not spook me or make me jumpy. I was raised in the mountains and I enjoy the solitude.
On this night, there were no normal night sounds, such as crickets or frogs. I also found it strange that all the wildlife seemed to be gone from the area. This bothered me a bit. I decided to leave some dog food at the edge of the wood line hoping to entice a particular family of raccoons out so I could at least see that they were okay. I didn't see a gray fox that would hang around the area. This fox would come within a few feet from me, meander around, and then retreat back into the woods.
After walking near the woods with the food I heard a deep growl come from inside the edge of the wood line. I had never heard an animal growl with such intensity and so deeply. I could literally feel the vibration of the growl hitting my face and inside of my chest. I knew that it wasn't a bear, whose sounds I was familiar with. I dumped the food on the ground with one hard drop hoping that whatever was in the wood line would take off. I backed away with my head down until I reached my truck. My instinct told me to drive away, so I did.
I decided to go back about an hour later. I was now curious as to what this creature was. I parked in the same place and this time walked to the back of my truck to grab a smoke. While standing there I observed a dark mass come across the road and disappear into an overgrown open field with wild blackberry bushes and grass. I do have a sharp eye and I was able to discern some detail. I can only describe this creature as some kind of hybrid canine. It was on all fours but it did not appear natural. It moved very quickly with fluent motions. The gait was weird as well like the front legs were pulling its body forward. It almost had a human-like movement to it, as if it could stand on two legs if needed. The long back was hunched. The snout was long but it fit its body. What struck me most were its ears, which were large and folded back. The legs also had muscle mass to them. My background working with dogs told me that this was something very unusual. I just know that it was there one minute and gone the next.
When daylight came I drove back to the location. I looked for tracks but listened to my gut and did not enter. For several months I didn't tell anyone about it. I started searching the internet for what I had seen. I wondered if it was some type of hybrid that had escaped. I found several online sites but none seemed to come close to what I had seen. Then I came across the picture of a Dogman. If you take what I saw and stand it upright instead of being on all fours that's what I saw without a doubt. It wasn't overly massive, possibly a juvenile.
I later spoke with a few of my co-workers. Of course, they told me it was a bear or a large domestic dog. But a few of them did acknowledge that the wildlife in the area had been disappearing for a while. I don't speak about it much because of ridicule. But I do know what I saw, heard, and how my instincts reacted to it."