It was a beautiful sunny day in June 2012 and a team of us were busy getting the house prepared for Sybilla to move in. After having been vacant for 2 years there were lots of issues to address, particularly busted pipes. Sybilla and I had made a supply run to the nearest town, and were headed back to the house in my vehicle. There are two different routes you can take to reach the house, and we chose the one that follows a stream through a heavy forest for a good distance before climbing and gaining elevation. It's a beautiful drive, with the trees making a complete canopy over the road in places. Just as you leave the the forest and it starts to open up just a bit, the road undulates over some small rises and dips.
We had just driven over one little rise and as we were dropping down into the small depression on the other side I felt compelled to look in my rear view mirror. I immediately hit the brakes. There was something in the middle of the road on the other side of the rise we'd just come over. The rise itself blocked my view of the entire body (although I could see 90% of it), but I was seeing something on all fours and I knew I was not looking at a dog.
I threw the car in reverse, but by the time we backed up the 100 feet or so to where it had been, there was nothing there. We talked it over briefly and i started to drive forward again, but felt compelled to go back and get out and look around, so we turned around and came back to the area and parked.
There are no houses within sight at that particular area. Many of the homes along that section do have dogs, so we whistled and called to see if any dog would appear....Nothing. Anywhere. And I already knew it had not been a dog.
I described in detail to Sybilla what I had seen. This creature was in full sunlight, and I could see everything except the very bottom of the appendages. The color was a beautiful russet. The hair was about 4 to 5 inches long, but was standing up more than laying down. There was no tail, and the hind legs came straight down. and were thick, not tapering like a dog's legs. The torso was not as deep as a dogs would be. I could see under the body. The head did not rise up out of the body...it appeared as if a child was trying to crawl across an opening and was keeping it's head down so as to not be seen. There were no ears, and no muzzle. The face was flat, and the head was round. I would estimate the size to have been around 5' tall if it were standing upright.
We spoke with one of the neighbors the next day and asked him if there were any dogs on that road that matched the size and color description. There were not. Can I say with certainty what I saw....in my heart yes! Going by visual evidence, no, it was too brief a sighting. I will note that when I glanced in the rear view I got an electrical JOLT that left me shaking. Little did I know this encounter was just a prelude of what was to come.
I threw the car in reverse, but by the time we backed up the 100 feet or so to where it had been, there was nothing there. We talked it over briefly and i started to drive forward again, but felt compelled to go back and get out and look around, so we turned around and came back to the area and parked.
There are no houses within sight at that particular area. Many of the homes along that section do have dogs, so we whistled and called to see if any dog would appear....Nothing. Anywhere. And I already knew it had not been a dog.
I described in detail to Sybilla what I had seen. This creature was in full sunlight, and I could see everything except the very bottom of the appendages. The color was a beautiful russet. The hair was about 4 to 5 inches long, but was standing up more than laying down. There was no tail, and the hind legs came straight down. and were thick, not tapering like a dog's legs. The torso was not as deep as a dogs would be. I could see under the body. The head did not rise up out of the body...it appeared as if a child was trying to crawl across an opening and was keeping it's head down so as to not be seen. There were no ears, and no muzzle. The face was flat, and the head was round. I would estimate the size to have been around 5' tall if it were standing upright.
We spoke with one of the neighbors the next day and asked him if there were any dogs on that road that matched the size and color description. There were not. Can I say with certainty what I saw....in my heart yes! Going by visual evidence, no, it was too brief a sighting. I will note that when I glanced in the rear view I got an electrical JOLT that left me shaking. Little did I know this encounter was just a prelude of what was to come.
Team mate and Tennessee BFRO Ronie Powell
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