People may scoff at things like this, but I don’t know. There are many places in the deep South that are very remote. Many things that “don’t exist” are in fact alive and well. Bears, panthers and Lord knows what else still wander the swamps and woods. Several years ago my Great Danes treed a strange creature. It was a huge weasel like critter. My female leaped up and pulled it down and killed it. It was over four feet long and had huge teeth. Before I could get a picture the dogs took off with it. I called the wildlife people and they said it was a mink. This was not a mink.
A four foot plus member of Mustelidae (AKA, a wolverine), would cut your dogs in half, and then cut the halves in half before they hit the ground. Anywhere your dogs bit one, it could turn around and bite your dog’s face off.