Mystery beast killed near Pollok baffles animal experts

Lufkin (TX) Daily News ^ | 10.13.2004 | LYNN WINTHROP

[Lockbar]

Man, that thing sure is ugly. This requires more examination.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Who knew the Gates of Hell would be located in Lubbock?

It's an inter-dimensional-quantum mechanics-string theory kind of thing involving up to 12 dimensions.

At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Law is not justice but process]

Thanks for the link. Both the animals (the one shot by the rancher and the one shot under the house) are obviously the same thing. They are also obviously canid. Neither looks healthy, so I would tend to believe they are mangy coyotes because of their size and general shape. There is also the possibility that they are some sort of mutation of either coyotes or feral dogs. I believe the mange theory more likely as the animals, particularly the more recent one, look very sick. The part about the ear breaking off also sounds like mange. It is also consistent with reports of another animal similar in appearance, as canids travel in packs and pack-mates would probably spread mange to each other. The homeowner who shot the animal under the house better keep a close eye on his dogs, else they end up looking the same.

[BillyCrockett]

"A closer look at the animal's jaw line reveals a serious overbite and four huge canine teeth, and a long, rat-like tail curls behind the animal's emaciated frame."


A Liberal DemocRAT... way too easy!

[BenLurkin]

"It's not a dog," she said. "I'd bet my lottery ticket on that."

Wow, putting up her 1/18,000,000 chance to win. Really going out on a limb there, isn't she?

[deport]

Article and some other pictures......Click

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[cricket]

Are they going to DNA tests on it - examine this animal to see who/what it's geneaology may be?

[piasa]

Looks like a fox or an immature coyote. Red fox usually have a longer toe-to-heel ratio on the hind leg than coyotes or gray fox.

Oh for Pete's sake- take it to a taxidermist and he'll recognize it- the thing looks like a taxidermist's mannikin since the fur is missing :

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/subcategory/70/

If people ever ran across a furless raccoon, weasel or cat they'd freak out- they look even weirder.

[AD from SpringBay]

"It's body looked like something that has been dead for a month or so," Womack said. "Like I said, I've worked in the veterinary field for more than 20 years and I've never seen anything that bad."

Zombie Chupacabra?

[PAR35]

Probably just the effects of exposure to some of the material on the Shuttle that crashed in that area.

[Taquito]

Fellow freepers, I need some help finding a lost dog. We love our dog despite some of her small problems, and the kids are just crushed that she is missing.
A description so you will recognize her:

She has blue-grey skin that is almost hairless and appears to be covered with mange, this was caused by our 9 year old son billy spraying her with his mothers bottle of nair just before letting her run around in one of our famous Texas thunderstorms and then wrapping her in a freshly tie-dyed shirt to dry her off when she finally came back in shivering fron her loss of hair. She has a serious overbite and only four teeth from getting a little too close to me while I has splitting firewood one afternoon, and a long, rat-like tail curls behind the her emaciated frame due to the fact that she could not eat any solid food for 3 weeks due to the injury suffered when the axe cleaved open her head during the aforementioned wood-splitting incident.

She answers to the name Lucky.

If you live in Texas, and you have seen our beloved pet, please contact me through freep mail.

Thanks.

[piasa]

Better pic, does look like a coyote.

I wouldn't waste the money on a DNA test though some government official might waste the money since it's someone else's. Just bury the animal; it matters little whether it's a coyote or a coydog, either way it's got mange.

[fishtank]

"The animal's blue-grey skin is almost hairless and appears to be covered with mange. A closer look at the animal's jaw line reveals a serious overbite and four huge canine teeth, and a long, rat-like tail curls behind the animal's emaciated frame."

[Bungarian]

It is a chicken.

[null and void]

Sounds like someone found my first wife.

So much for no body-no crime. Email us from Argentina...

[Capriole]

Oh, my word. That poor little thing. Yes, that has to be a canid with severe mange. God have mercy on the miserable, suffering creature.

[piasa]

Tom Daschle is deeply saddened

[Capriole]

Oh, my word. That poor little thing. Yes, that has to be a canid with severe mange. God have mercy on the miserable, suffering creature.

[reagan_fanatic]

It's an inter-dimensional-quantum mechanics-string theory kind of thing involving up to 12 dimensions. ???

[null and void]

Probably just the effects of exposure to some of the material on the Shuttle that crashed in that area.

Hmmmmmm...