What is a dogman?
Witnesses describe a creature with a dog’s head, long ears and a powerful, hairy body that walks on its hind legs and is often said to be more than two meters (about 6.5 feet) tall. Unlike the werewolf, the dogman is not considered a transformed human but a distinct, unknown animal.
Where the reports come from
Most sightings come from the northern United States and the Midwest. In Michigan, the dogman became known in 1987 through a song that radio host Steve Cook wrote as an April Fools’ joke and that then set off reports from people who said they had really seen the creature. In Wisconsin, the “Beast of Bray Road” caused a stir from 1991 on; journalist Linda Godfrey wrote several books about it. Similar reports come from Colorado, Canada and other places.
Possible explanations
Skeptics point to bears standing upright, to large dogs and to the power of familiar stories: if you have heard of a creature, you are more likely to read an unclear experience in the dark that way.
Episodes on this topic
- Dogmen: An Eyewitness Journey Around the World (in German)
- Dogmen: The Canine Cryptids of Colorado (in German)
- Dogmen in the Northern United States (in German)