Michigan Dogman

The Michigan Dogman is a cryptozoological creature first reported in 1887 in Wexford County, Michigan. Sightings have been reported in several locations throughout Michigan, primarily in the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula. In 1987, the legend of the Michigan Dogman gained popularity when a disc jockey at WTCM-FM recorded a song about the creature and its reported sightings.

History

In 1987, disc jockey Steve Cook at WTCM-FM in Traverse City, Michigan recorded a song titled "The Legend", which he initially played as an April Fool's Day joke. He based the songs on actual reports of the creature.^[1]

Cook recorded the song with a keyboard backing and credited it to Bob Farley.^[2] After he played the song, Cook received calls from listeners who said that they had encountered a similar creature. In the next weeks after Cook first played the song, it was the most-requested song on the station. He also sold cassettes of the songs for four dollars, and donated proceeds from the single to an animal shelter.^[3] Over the years, Cook has received more than 100 reports of the creature's existence.^[4] In March 2010, the creature was featured in an episode of MonsterQuest.^[4]

Cook later added verses to the song in 1997 after hearing a report of an animal break-in by an unknown canine at a cabin in Luther, Michigan.^[5][6] He re-recorded it again in 2007, with a mandolin backing.

Sightings

The first known sighting of the Michigan Dogman occurred in 1887 in Wexford County, when two lumberjacks saw a creature whom they described as having a man's body and a dog's head.^[7]

In 1938 in Paris, Michigan, Robert Fortney was attacked by five wild dogs and said that one of the five walked on two legs.^[8] Reports of similar creatures also came from Allegan County in the 1950s, and in Manistee and Cross Village in 1967.^[9]

Linda S. Godfrey, in her book The Beast of Bray Road, compares the Manistee sightings to a similar creature sighted in Wisconsin known as the Beast of Bray Road.^[10]

Gable film

In 2007, a digital copy of an 8mm film surfaced on the internet. Dubbed "The Gable Film" because of a small paper tag attached to the box containing the film reel, it quickly attained viral status among cryptozoological enthusiasts. Many people believed it was the long-awaited conclusive evidence of the existence of the Michigan dogman. The entire film is 3.5 minutes long, and appears to have been shot in the mid to late 1970s. Early scenes are typical home movie fare: children riding snowmobiles, a German shepherd, a person chopping wood, etc. Toward the end of the film, the photographer is shooting from inside a moving vehicle traveling along a dirt road, when he spots what appears to be a gorilla-like animal moving in a field on the passenger side of the vehicle. The photographer exits the vehicle and seems to pursue the creature for several seconds. Then it appears again, facing the photographer from a ridge about 150 feet away. After a few seconds the creature charges. Rapid movement of the camera suggests the photographer is fleeing the attack. In the last five seconds of the film, there is a flash of teeth and muzzle, and the camera drops to the ground, laying on its left side.

After years of analysis and debate, the film was finally revealed as a hoax in the finale episode of Monster Quest on March 24, 2010. The Gable Film had been shot using vintage cameras, film, and period props by Mike Agrusa, a fan of "The Legend," song. Monster Quest claimed their investigative team uncovered irregularities in the film, and then forced the hoaxers to confess to werewolf expert Linda Godfrey. However the Hoaxers say that they told "Monster Quest" from the beginning that the film was a fake and they fabricated the "investigation" to make a more interesting episode. ^[11]

References

1. ^ Godfrey, Linda S. (2003). The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf. Big Earth Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 1879483912. http://books.google.com/books?id=h_Po8ixCCqUC&pg=PA58&dq=michigan+dogman&hl=en&ei=QLS3TMvYGMyanAfUmtCRCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=michigan%20dogman&f=false. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
2. ^ "Chapter 1". Michigan Dogman.com. http://www.michigan-dogman.com/00_history_chap1.html. Retrieved 8 October 2010. 
3. ^ Godfrey, pp. 61-62
4. ^ ^{a b} Charmoli, Rick (22 March 2010). "Dogman to be topic of MonsterQuest". Cadillac News. http://www.cadillacnews.com/news_story/?story_id=1457960&year=2010&issue=20100322. Retrieved 15 October 2010. 
5. ^ Mencarelli, Jim (17 July 1987). "Dogman? "Attack" brings a 90-year-old legend to life again up north". The Grand Rapids Press. 
6. ^ "Chapter 3". Michigan Dogman.com. http://www.michigan-dogman.com/00_history_chap3.html. Retrieved 8 October 2010. 
7. ^ Royce, Julie Albrecht (2007). Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast. Dog Ear Publishing. pp. 419–420. ISBN 1598583212. http://books.google.com/books?id=hMLjOnGC_pAC&pg=PA420&dq=michigan+%22dogman%22&hl=en&ei=l7a3TMeVKNT_nQeJtKnxCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=michigan%20%22dogman%22&f=false. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
8. ^ Godfrey, pp. 60-61
9. ^ Newton, Michael Albrecht (2009). Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures. ABC-CLIO. p. 149. ISBN 0313359067. http://books.google.com/books?id=pcC6NW_NCK4C&pg=PA149&dq=michigan+dogman&hl=en&ei=QLS3TMvYGMyanAfUmtCRCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=michigan%20dogman&f=false. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
10. ^ Godfrey, pp. 62-63
11. ^ http://michigan-dogman.com/wordpress/?p=207