LON STRICKLER: More Blue Dog Sightings

Hi Jon...I posted an article on your expedition to Texas and have received some interesting emails on other sightings. I have attached. If you want any further information...let me know. Lon Strickler, Phantoms and Monsters

http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/

• Lon…Regarding the article about blue dogs. I live in Alabama and on numerous occasions I would ride with my husband who is an OTR driver. One day we were in northern Alabama when suddenly I saw walking on the side of the field was a BLUE dog. This dog walked naturally on the edge of the road as we passed. My husband did not see him as he was driving and the dog was on my side the passenger side. This was broad open daylight around 1 to 2 in the after noon during the summer months about 3 years ago. Is there such a dog species that is actually blue?
• Hello Lon. Add us in. About 4 years ago my wife and I were taking a rare child-free trip to a judicial conference in Colorado. We were driving across a pretty flat and desolate part of Kansas (there’s a shock) and it was around sunset. We had recently finished laughing hysterically at some Kansas Department of Transportation guys who were striping the highway by having one of them lean backwards off the back of the truck with the striping paint in his hand while another worker held his legs (this made the trip fairly memorable by itself) and my wife had drifted off to nap while I drove.
• I noticed an animal coming from a field across the highway from left to right and I slowed to let it cross in front of us. In Oklahoma one has to make way for deer, free-roaming ranch dogs and coyotes this way in the rural areas so it was no big deal. In our neighborhood one can come home at twilight and find a coyote in the front yard or walking casually down the street toward the nearby golf course—a coyote is not a particularly exotic sight.
• As we got closer, I noticed this was neither any breed of dog I recognized nor any type of coyote I recognized. For one thing it was pretty big. It had extremely short hair (or none, I couldn’t tell), a really long and odd looking snout and a distinctive dark blue color which I assumed was being exaggerated because of the sunset light. It didn’t dart across the highway, but looked over at our car and trotted across. Very odd looking critter. Given the reports about blue canines in Texas, thought I’d pass this report on to you. Whatever they are, we saw something basically fitting that description in western Kansas.

OK, BUT WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

Thanks to everyone who commented on the photographs of the skull that we posted up the other day. I am certain that it is indeed a raccoon skull. Chris Kraska wrote:

'The other options were ringtail or coatimundi as they have similar dentition but the paroccipital process and auditory bulla are wrong for both. Also the skull shape is distinct. It's a very young animal as the sagittal crest is not developed as it is in older animals. The dead giveaway is the length of the hard palate and how far it continues posteriorly of the teeth.'

It was found on the land of Devin Macanally, close by the location of several blue dog sightings. Ironically a trail camera placed there two nights before picked up images of a ringtail (Bassariscus astutus), which, though also a type of raccoon, is known locally as `the ringtailed cat`, and I had vaguely wondered whether the skull was of this species.

But what the hell is this?

It was found in several locations nearby, draped on branches, and also fallen on the ground. It is organic and smells disgusting....

Newspaper Article

'Mystery and science fiction novels are a weekend hobby for some, but one local couple is turning their free time to attempting to solve strange mysteries in nature.

Richard and Naomi West just returned from a weeklong trip around Texas collecting pictures and video based on reports of strange blue-skinned, dog-like animals around the state that some have called the answer to the "chupacabre."

The Wests, along with the founder of a British nonprofit supporting cryptozoology, hope their reports from the expedition will help them gain support for a more in-depth mission to study and hopefully capture what they believe is not a being of folklore, but a new species of canine similar to a coyote.'

Here is the complete article in the local newspaper concerning Jon and Corinna's visit.

Goodbyes

It was with heavy hearts that we said goodbye to Jon and Corinna yesterday. We miss them terribly.

CORINNA DOWNES: Some pictures from Texas

CORINNA'S DIARY: Saturday, 20th March

OK, photos on a blog posting can be classed as a cop-out, but it has gone midnight and I still have some packing to do.

Both Jon and I have lots of stories to tell and we shall write about them anon. In the meantime, I shall sign off from our Texas Expedition blog and will see you again soon when back in Blighty.

CORINNA DOWNES: Last night in Texas

CORINNA’S DIARY: Saturday, 20th March

Returning from Austin, where Jon gave a talk, it has been an evening of packing and re-squeezing things into suitcases. At least this time it doesn’t matter whether clothing gets crumpled into a mass of creases as it will all go into the faithful old washing machine upon our return to Woolsery. It has been a wonderful two weeks and I can only thank Naomi and Richie for their tremendous generosity and hospitality. It is one of those occasions where the two words ‘thank you’ do not seem adequate but I cannot think of any other way of expressing my gratitude.

Jon has thanked people on his posting so I won’t repeat all the names, but I would like to extend my personal thanks to all those mentioned.

I have enjoyed my first proper expedition abroad with Jon and have had great fun meeting Jon’s friends and making some new ones. I hope we can come back soon to continue with the investigations into this rather enigmatic creature that has caught our imaginations during the last fortnight.

Tomorrow we shall begin our long haul back to our own little homestead in Devon and although sad to be leaving Texas and Naomi, Richie, Salem and Tiberious, I am looking forward to seeing Biggles again and hope that he will not be too disgruntled with me for leaving him for so long.

Salem

Tiberius

RETURN OF THE NATIVES

By the time that you read this we will probably be just about back in England. From where I am sitting Graham, Lizwiz and the rest of the gang have done a pretty good job in our absence.

They do not know it yet, but as we are both likely to be horridly jetlagged for a few days, I would not be THAT surprised if I end up asking them to carry on for a few more days. But thank you guys - you done well!