Читать книгу Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside - Brad Steiger - Страница 53

On January 14, 1971, a large, black dog received the blame when six hogs and three dogs were found slain, mutilated, and partially eaten at two farms a short distance east of Waterloo, Iowa.

The tracks found at the scene of the slaughter puzzled authorities. Some experts insisted that the prints were those of a large mountain lion that had somehow found its way to Iowa.

Later three lawmen reported that they had sighted and trailed a large black dog that they believed had been responsible for killing the nine farm animals, but the savage animal had easily escaped the hunt. “He was an extraordinarily big dog, and pretty fast, too,” said Walt Berryhill, a La Porte City police dispatcher. “We saw him jump over fences.”

Then, just as suddenly as they had begun, the attacks of the great black dog ceased. After a month had gone by, the black large dog with the voracious appetite had ceased to sample any more plump Iowa livestock. Could the monster have found its way back into the dimension from whence it had come?

Farmers in the Midwest often encounter unidentifiable footprints left by unknown animals that have mauled their livestock—then disappeared without a trace. The fact that so many farmers find their dogs slain with necks and backs broken may be an example of the creatures’ powerful ability to defend itself, rather than a quest for fresh meat.