CHupacabra in the Midwest

JOHNSON COUNTY--A strange animal in one Arkansas county has residents looking for answers as to what it is. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission say it's a dog, but some residents disagree.
Some people say it's a cross between a wild dog and coyote, but others say there's an air of mystery surrounding the animal. Some even think it has characteristics of a Chupacabra, an animal from a Hispanic legend.
Deer hunters have more than one animal to talk about when they check their hunt in at McCormick's One Stop.
"Everyone that comes in has their own opinion," Matt McCormick said.
Ideas circulate among the customers about this animal, one Johnson County residents' can't agree on what to call it. McCormick's has pictures on the counter if you want to get a good look at it.
They're "just kind of curious as to what it is. It's got everybody's interest perked up," McCormick said.
These pictures were taken October fourth, one day after the animal was shot. The photographer sent them to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for an answer, and they got one. But many residents say they're not convinced it's a dog with a severe case of mange.
Some people have been digging for another explanation, and they think they found it in the urban legend of Chupacabra. According to the Hispanic legend, Chupacabra can come in three forms one of which is a strange breed of wild dog, mostly hairless with pronounced eye sockets, teeth and claws.
But some people say that idea is far fetched.
"It's a funny colored dog so got to calling it a dog from hell. It's just a regular dog," Johnson County resident Gerry McCartney said.
McCartney says the idea that's it's anything other than a dog is off the wall, because she's had a run-in with the animal in her yard.
"I came out one night and shot up in air to get it gone off my dogs," she said.
People in the county continue to talk of this animal although its dead, they're confident others are alive.
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