An Alaskan man encounters an upright canine while driving late at night in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. The terrifying incident occurred in the fall of 1998.
The following account was recently forwarded to me:
I was traveling on a local road in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, about 30 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska. This occurred in the fall of 1998. It was close to midnight, when my headlights caught a large, dark figure up ahead. I'm bad at judging distance, but I believe it was maybe 6 car lengths away. I instinctively let off the gas, coasting closer.
At first I assumed it was a moose, as the area is infested with them. But no, it was standing upright. Bear, then? No, not a bear. It looked so strange. It was tall enough to be an uncommonly large bear, but far too slender. It looked like it had spikes running down its neck and back. Was I being pranked? All those thoughts ran through my head in a fraction of a second.
The car was still coasting closer and I could see more details. It was standing in profile, gazing across the road. I could clearly see its wolf-like muzzle and large, upright ears. The 'spikes' on its back were in fact clumps of fur. Its spine curved in a smooth, very natural-looking way. It was standing in the ditch, inches from the road surface. Because I was focused on its upper body, I do not recall anything about its back legs or if it had a tail. I did see its front legs though. These were very 'dog-like,' hanging awkwardly down and slightly toward its front. Exactly as you'd expect if a dog stood upright. While it clearly had a canine look, there was still something 'off' about it that I cannot articulate. It was perfectly still, and at this point, given the proximity to Halloween, I was quite convinced it was some sort of Halloween prop, because it was clearly not any kind of existing animal. I was deeply impressed and gently stepped on the brakes, intending to stop and examine it closely.
Then it turned its head towards me. In the tiny fraction of a second that it took for it to swivel its head, I knew I had made a terrible mistake. The fluidness of its movement removed any and all doubt that this was some kind of prop. It was horribly, terrifyingly alive. The pale, off-white glow of its eyeshine in the headlights destroyed any possibility of a human in a costume. I think I sat there gaping at it in shock for a few seconds, the car barely moving by now, but still inching closer. As I was almost upon it (I think it could have leaned forward and touched the car if it had wanted) I had to look up to see its face. Again, I'm a bad judge of such things, but I am 5'4" and it was a hell of a lot taller than me. Tall like a polar bear standing. 7-8 at least, I really can't say.
I snapped out of my trance and slammed on the gas. The car fishtailed and I prepared myself for death-by-monster, as I was certain I'd end up in the ditch, but the tires caught the pavement and I drove like a complete maniac all the way home. I did not look back." D
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