Dozens of people have shared their terrifying encounters with creatures lurking in woods and prairielands known only as “dogmen”.
Reports of the bizarre creature, described by different witnesses as having a head resembling a German Shepherd and glistening strong muscles, have circulated since the 1880s.
Unlike dogs however, the monster is said to be able to walk on their hind legs as well as all fours and have long arms.
Several people have shared their stories of encountering the creatures - armed with razor sharp claws and teeth - including park rangers and high court judges in the US and Canada.
One from Ohio said: “People need to be made aware of these things, they are as real as it gets and they are dangerous.
“I have always loved nature, I love the woods, I love hiking and camping, fishing.
"On this occasion I was by a lake for 15 minutes when all of the sudden this overwhelming feeling of dread came over me.
“I switched my headlamp on to turn around to start back up the river bank and right behind a big sycamore tree, I saw what looked to be a very large animal kind of kneeling beside it.
“As I locked my eyes on it, I completely froze. I knew I was definitely seeing something there, but my mind couldn’t process it.
"What I was looking at didn’t make any f***ing sense. I kept saying to myself “animals aren’t supposed to look like that.
“Right as I’m thinking this, it’s as if this thing read my mind, stood up and made itself perfectly visible.
"You know, the monsters your parents told you weren't real and couldn’t hurt you?
“I’ve heard of the “Dogman” before but never really took it seriously. These things are perfectly adapted killing machines.
"The way the arms and legs looked, it looked like it was perfectly adapted to walk on all fours as well as on two legs
“This experience has torn a huge hole in me.”
Another who shared their experience in Georgia said he was rafting with friends when he had to answer a call of nature.
When he stopped in a clearing “a genetically mixed entity of man, wolf and primate” suddenly stepped out.
He added: “I spent 21 years in the Army, all over the world and in three different theatres of war and I have barely slept at all since seeing this thing, an enormous canine type creature.
“I can still taste the fear in my throat and my own vomit. I am six foot tall and about 250 solid pounds and this thing dwarfed me.
"At least 7 foot 6 and maybe 350-400 pounds.
“As a former college and semi pro football player and powerlifter, I know about big people and about strength and musculature and this was no normal creature that evolved somehow in that environment.
“I can promise you this is not something anyone would want to encounter twice.”
Another witness, a deputy sheriff said: “There ain’t many things in the world that scare me, put simply I’ve seen some s**t in my days, but nothing prepared me for that night.
“I recall there was a search for a young man sucked into a storm drain and I parked my cruiser at what I believe was the electric company storage yard.
“About five minutes pass before I hear a snorting almost sniffing sound coming from the other side of the tracks. I turned my light and to this day wish I hadn’t.
“It had pointed ears and a long muzzle and it looked me right in the face before it bolted Into the timber. It was not a mask and it was NOT, a person in a costume.
"Who would walk up on an armed man with a police radio in full uniform and risk getting shot? I remember it was surreal, so final I guess.
“I know what’s in the dark now.”
Nick Redfern, a lecturer and journalist who covers unsolved mysteries such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and UFOs, confirms there have been a number of reported dogman sightings in the UK.
He told the Daily Star: "There was a spate of them in the summer of 2006."
