Michigan Dogman
The Michigan Dogman is a cryptozoological creature first reported in 1887 in Wexford County, Michigan. It has been sited 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]
References
- ^ Godfrey, Linda S. (2003). The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf. Big Earth Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 1879483912. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- ^ "Chapter 1". Michigan Dogman.com. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ Godfrey, pp. 61-62
- ^ a b Charmoli, Rick (22 March 2010). "Dogman to be topic of MonsterQuest". Cadillac News. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ Mencarelli, Jim (17 July 1987). "Dogman? "Attack" brings a 90-year-old legend to life again up north". The Grand Rapids Press.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Chapter 3". Michigan Dogman.com. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ Royce, Julie Albrecht (2007). Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast. Dog Ear Publishing. pp. 419–420. ISBN 1598583212. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- ^ Godfrey, pp. 60-61
- ^ Newton, Michael Albrecht (2009). Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures. ABC-CLIO. p. 149. ISBN 0313359067. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- ^ Godfrey, pp. 62-63
