The Ratdog of Maine
This is such an amazing planet. Even with us humans shitting in nearly every nook and cranny of it, there are still creatures unknown to science. Take for example the recent discovery of the carcass of a strange hybrid that had been terrorizing a small rural community for years.
Local residents spoke of cattle being taking down and left with mysterious bite marks that forensics experts where left unable to match to any known animals bite patterns. The animal was also suspected to have been the attacker of several campers, dogs and livestock that had been reported over the past decade in the area.
The creature, described as looking like a cross between a dog and a rodent, was often heard shrieking and howling in the dead of night by hunters and campers in the deep woods of the area. One man who wished to remain anonymous described an encounter with the creature he had last August while hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail at night:
I was hiking at night. It’s a thing some hikers do to avoid some of the crowds that have started to appear on the trail over the years as its gotten more popular. It’s a great way to get that feeling of really being way out there in the woods, and closer nature. You always hear animals moving around at night, there’s a bunch of nocturnal animals who are looking for food and whatnot. So I wasn’t concerned when I heard footsteps in the brush about 20 yards away from where I was standing, but then all of a sudden this dog like creature jumped into the trail, and I swear it considered eating me. The sound of its snarl was unlike any dog I’ve ever heard. It was just so incredibly guttural and menacing. Just when I reached for my hunting rifle, the creature leapt literally 10 ft to the right in one bound and disappeared into the darkness. I never felt so scared in my life…
After DNA analysis was performed, it was shown that the animal was actually a rare wolf-dog hybrid, although independent researchers have been unable to obtain tissue samples from the local authorities to corroborate the findings. For local citizens though, it is a relief,as the howling at night, for now, has quieted.
