"They rounded up the rest of the guys hunting. My dad, a few male cousins, and my uncle got all their shotguns and ammunition and saddled the horses to go clear the woods."
"This happened when I was about 12 years old to my uncle. He's no longer with us and I want to share his story.
Growing up, I lived in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on 5,000 acres of farm/ranch land that backed up into state land. Nothing but miles of forest and pasture could be seen. Needless to say, it made us pretty tough and it takes a lot to spook us. We are all avid hunters, fishermen, and outdoorsmen. Being the only girl I was raised as a tomboy and I'm just the same.
My uncle went off to join the military, becoming a senior NCO in a prominent special forces division of the US Navy. He was 6'4, built like a wrestler, and obviously skilled in survival tactics and nothing rattled him.
He was home on leave and went out hunting as it was deer season. I remember him coming in the house shaking and crying saying he saw something in the woods. My uncle never cried. He was tough as nails and would tear someone to shreds before he let them make him cry. My grandmother tried to get him to make sense but he kept saying he saw Bigfoot mixed with a wolf. My granny immediately got my grandfather and he rounded up the rest of the guys hunting, my dad, a few male cousins, and my uncle (who was still terrified but went because he didn't want to be labeled a chicken), got all their shotguns and ammunition and saddled the horses to go clear the woods. Apparently, they were aware of the dogman but I was blissfully young and ignorant. They told me to stay inside and for no reason was I to step outside of our house until they returned. I had never heard my dad or grandfather so serious, so I hid in my room.
Sunset comes and they still aren't back. I'm really worried at this point because they never stayed in the woods until after dark. Shortly I heard the sound of the horses running to the barn and their voices. I was so relieved. They looked troubled when they came into the house but didn't say anything, probably to not spook me. At dinner my dad laid down the law I was no longer allowed to play outside or go to the barns alone. I had to have my grandfather with me at all times. Of course, I was upset by this and felt my independence was being taken away, but I obeyed. The next morning my dad and grandfather taught me how to shoot. I knew it was serious.
I overheard the adults talking the next night. Apparently, there were tracks where my uncle had his sighting, bigger than any wolf could make but they were definitely dog tracks. As I said before we are avid outdoorsmen and hunters we can identify tracks easily but these couldn't be identified. About 8 ft up in a tree were claw marks. No Michigan bear could make those. We also found claw marks of about the same height on multiple trees throughout our property. There were cattle mutilated and not in the way a coyote or bear would and it lasted that whole winter. We lost about 30-40 cattle that winter, all of them mutilated. All with the same wolf/dog tracks in the snow.
I really feel like this experience changed my uncle. Who knows. He did multiple tours in the Middle East for Desert Storm and OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) before he committed suicide. After that experience though he was never the same. He went from not ever drinking to never seeing him without a bottle of Jack and his eyes were always haunted. He changed his personality and never went out in the woods again. He quit hunting and he eventually just quit coming home to visit on leave. He didn't even come home for my dad's funeral 2 years later. It was heartbreaking to see him deteriorate the way he did. I truly believe he saw something out there and it ultimately killed him" B
NOTE: Over the years, there have been several witnesses come forward describing a similar creature seen in the Upper Peninsula. Lon
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