TURNER, Maine - Residents are wondering if an animal found dead over the weekend may be the mysterious creature that has mauled dogs, frightened residents and been the subject of local legend for half a generation. The animal was found near power lines along Route 4 on Saturday, apparently struck by a car while chasing a cat. The carcass was photographed and inspected by several people who live in the area, but nobody is sure exactly what it is. Michelle O'Donnell of Turner spotted the animal near her yard about a week before it was killed. She called it a "hybrid mutant of something." "It was evil, evil looking. And it had a horrible stench I will never forget," she told the Sun Journal of Lewiston. "We locked eyes for a few seconds and then it took off. I've lived in Maine my whole life and I've never seen anything like it." For the past 15 years, residents across Androscoggin County have reported seeing and hearing a mysterious animal with chilling monstrous cries and eyes that glow in the night. The animal has been blamed for attacking and killing a Doberman pinscher and a Rottweiler the past couple of years. People from Litchfield, Sabattus, Greene, Turner, Lewiston and Auburn have come forward to speak of a mystery monster that roams the woods. Nobody knows for sure what it is, and theories have ranged from a hyena or dingo to a fisher or coydog, an offspring of a coyote and a wild dog. Now, people are asking if the mystery beast and the animal killed over the weekend are one and the same. Wildlife officials and animal control officers declined to go to Turner to examine the remains. By Tuesday, the carcass had been picked clean by vultures and there was not much left of the dead animal. Loren Coleman, a Portland author and cryptozoologist, said it's unlikely that the animal was anybody's pet. After reviewing photos of the carcass, Coleman said he was bothered by the animal's ears and snout. It reminded him of a case years ago in northern Maine in which an animal shot by a hunter could not be identified. In the end, wildlife officials got a DNA analysis that showed the animal was a rare wolf-dog hybrid, he said. Mike O'Donnell, who is married to Michelle O'Donnell, said the animal looked "half-rodent, half-dog" to him. It was charcoal gray, weighed between 40 and 50 pounds and had a bushy tail, a short snout, short ears and curled fangs hanging over its lips, he said. It looked like "something out of a Stephen King story." "This is something I've never seen before. It's an evil-looking thing," he said.
I agree with Sniper. We want pics. Haha. No good without them. Could be a snippet from the National Enquirer or something just run in the local paper. 'Show me the mutant!' (If Jerry Maguire worked at the freak show.)
Hmmm.....apparently those rumors of the mating habits of my ex-wife are true ! (Yeah....I'm going to hell....you don't need to tell me )
Ummm... E.L.? (I had to look it up) A goat-sucker? Maybe it was just a cross between a black chow and a short-nosed dog (boxer-ish). The other photo shows the body (http://www.foxnews.com/images/218202/1_22_maine_mystery_beast2.jpg). 'Course Sniper & TnAndy might be on the right track. You guys crack me up!
I killed a feral dog several years back that looked a lot like that, just an ugly mixed-breed dog but he led a pack that gave my ex-wife quite a scare.
Looks like a Chow/Wolf hybrid to me. There are still quite a few Eastern Gray Wolves out in Maine, at least when I lived there in the 90's.
Yeah it does look like part chow. Shame they didn't get more/better pictures and look at the tongue. I don't see anything remarkable here. It's a friggin canine for crying out loud not an ET.
Yall know that thar thing landed in that thar flying ship wats from outer space. Its one them alien wolfs that bite on ya and make ya into a wolf too. Yep. Looks like a dog to me. Just a strange breed dog. My aunt had a dog that was so damned ugly you would have thought it was an alien. I believe it was a pekinese mixed with a shihtzu or something like that. Short furry creature with big bug eyes and a tongue that hung out all the time. Drooled a lot as well. Yep, it was a alien. Haha.
@ Pekinese + Shitzu. The crossed name alone... More Crossbred Dogs: Pichoneise + Poodle Peek-a-poo, this dog plays peek-a-boo with... well, you get the picture. Pointer + Setter Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet Kerry Blue Terrier + Skye Terrier Blue Skye, a dog for visionaries Great Pyrenees + Dachshund Pyradachs, a puzzling breed Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso Peekasso, an abstract dog Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists Newfoundland + Basset Hound Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisors Terrier + Bulldog Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes Bloodhound + Labrador Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly Malamute + Pointer Moot Point, owned by... oh, well, it doesn't matter anyway Collie + Malamute Commute, a dog that travels to work Cocker Spaniel + Rottweiller Cockrot, the perfect puppy for that philandering ex-husband Deerhouse + Terrier Derriere, a dog that's true to the end