The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word cryptid as “An animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.” For the following witnesses to living cryptids, there is no dispute. In this series of National Cryptid Society’s case files, you will read what the witnesses have experienced in their own words.
Keep an open mind when reading these accounts, and also remember one’s perception and memory of an event can be influenced by the emotions felt at the time of the occurrence. The contributors to this series of articles are doing the best they can to recount what are in some cases very shocking and traumatic experiences.
If you have a personal cryptid sighting story you would like to tell us, our contact information is at the bottom of this article.
NCS Case File #36: Of Dogs and Bear Men: Harrowing Experience for Campers outside Angoon, Alaska
Submitted by Dawn
Encounter Date: July 1995
Location: 3 miles west of Angoon, Alaska
The witness stated the encounter happened on the second night camping. It was late and dark. With no moon, the only light came from the stars and the campfire.
“We were out camping on a little island close to my village. Had my favorite dog with me (named Beardog), kids and hubby. The first night was OK, usual woods noises like creaking trees and snapping branches, but the dog didn’t care.
I was putting the kids down in tent. A noise or a sound made Beardog alert, and he started sniffing and growling. We were careful to put up our food and had our guns ready. Hubby and I started to get ready for the night. He wanted to put fire out but I was anxious. So he let it burn down some and came to the tent. Hubby and I laid down, and all of a sudden Beardog goes crazy. Barking, snarling and scratching to get out of the tent.
We heard lots noise outside the tent, grunts and a growl-like sound, breaking limbs and water splashing. The growl wasn’t as deep or long as a bear; it was almost like a snore sound. Hubby gets out of the tent with the dog, and the dog starts running around looking for whatever was out there.
My dog was a mutt. He was raised with having bears around the house but his reaction was more aggressive than his usual barking to chase off bears. When he went out into the dark to chase whatever he didn’t go far, 5-7ft radius.
There were two big cracks (breaking limbs), like stepping on small limbs and then a rustle sound. I’d assumed it was leaving the island because after my dog started going crazy, it was loud for a minute (with the limbs and noise), then a water splash, like launching a kayak; not like a dive splash.
Once he stopped barking, he was sniffing for a few minutes and went to the shore. I only smelled the woods; smell of moss and wet earth. A musty dirt smell, but like when you dig a hole; it was a “fresh dirt” smell.
Beardog was looking at the other shore. My husband used his flashlight but didn’t see anything. We were pretty sure it had left the island. We were about 5 ft from another island, and at a low tide it was chest high with water. I’m not sure of the tide at the time. The terrain was heavy forest with a rock beach; nothing sandy or ground where we could make out anything.
I was frozen with fear and sat up all night listening to every sound. It was as a long night. I’ve grown up with bears all around. In my native village, it’s not uncommon for bears to walk around and get into things, chase dogs and look in windows. My dog didn’t act like he was chasing off a bear like he usually did. His name was bear-dog, so he would chase bears all the time. My Grams told me stories of “Bear Men” and hunters, so to me, “Bear Men” meant Bigfoot.
It was quite an experience I’ll never forget.”
In this report the witness gives a description of the dog’s behavior during the event. The dog had been accustomed to bears, but on this night displayed a more aggressive behavior than normal towards bears, and did not pursue whatever was in the woods.
Canine behavior around other animals can vary widely based on the temperament of the individual dog. There have been several accounts where dogs show reluctance entering an area where a Sasquatch was reportedly in the vicinity. In other cases, aggressive dogs have been allegedly killed by a Sasquatch upon encountering one. In this particular case, upon being alerted to something outside the tent, the witness’s dog became aggressive. Upon leaving the tent, it showed restraint in pursuit of the creature.
This “go no further” behavior displayed by the dog may be due to what is recently being investigated by Bigfoot researchers; the ability for a Sasquatch to produce infrasound. Infrasound, when used in the Bigfoot community, is a term that generally implies that Sasquatch may have the ability (like other large mammals) to produce sounds of such frequency that are beyond the human ear’s ability to hear but could also have unpredictable effects on the target such sound is focused on.
“British scientists have shown in a controlled experiment that the extreme bass sound known as infrasound produces a range of bizarre effects in people including anxiety, extreme sorrow and chills — supporting popular suggestions of a link between infrasound and strange sensations.”
~MSNBC article: Infrasound linked to spooky effects
Some speculate the infrasound produced by a Bigfoot may be a defense mechanism and when applied may cause a fear response, allowing the Bigfoot time to remove itself from the area without further confrontation. One could imagine that facing a threat such as an aggressive dog that a Sasquatch that is unwilling to participate in a physical confrontation may opt to utilize an alternate defensive strategy.
There are numerous instances of dogs cowering and refusing to venture forward when a sasquatch is present, even groups of seasoned hunting dogs in unison whimpering in fear. One speculation is dogs might be particularly susceptible to the infrasound that sasquatches can project at those they want to ward off.
~Daniel Dover, article “Sasquatch vs Dogs“
In a recent article on the Bigfoot Junction blog of sasquatchresearchers.org by Daniel Dover titled “Sasquatch vs Dogs,” the interaction between Sasquatches and dogs is explored. There are many cases reported where dogs have been violently killed and fed upon where in other cases it is reported that a Sasquatch will be neutral or even tolerant and friendly toward a dog that it encounters. Just as the behavior of a dog around other animals can vary widely based on the temperament of the individual dog, the same can and should be said of Sasquatch.
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