My thought looking at the jawline, body shape etc… is this is a varient of a Thylacine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine) As to how it made it across the ocean????? Click on the above link. I found it interesting that this was there: “Throughout the 20th century, the Thylacine was often characterised as primarily a blood drinker, but little reference is now made to this trait; its popularity seems to have originated from a single second-hand account.”

Wasnt the xoloscuincla just named as the best dog for allergies sufferers because it is a hairless dog? Also quite an ugly animal.

although this is not a terribly common breed, it is the national dog of Mexico and is getting to be quite common in that country. it is also seen more frequently the closer you are the border. i work in an animal shelter in tucson, arizona, and we receive these hairless Xolos and mixes fairly often. I can easily see them turning up, one way or the other, in Cuero.

more photos of Xolo dogs are at this site:
http://user.tninet.se/~kmr888m/photogallery3.htm

and a good article giving another perspective to Canion’s story is here:
http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0904-chupacabra.html

i’ll keep watching for the results of that test, but something tells me it’s not going to happen until the t-shirt sales wind down, if then…

IF, and there’s a big if, the dead creature is connected to the animal killings, what would drive a canine not to consume the meat of its kill? How would it only ingest the blood? As far as I understand, canines do not have the ability to make suction with their mouths, so they must lap up liquids. If this is so, and this dead creature killed the chickens, did it let the animal bleed to death and only ingest the blood? That must have left some trace.

What would drive a carnivorous, meat-eating animal to do this? Are there health problems (maybe mange) that would change the animal’s behavior. Maybe its too weak to chew? I can’t imagine it would get enough nourishment that way.

Sarcops is a seasonal problem in areas with really cold winters, because feral dogs (or other animals for that matter) with such a widespread infestation simply do not survive a really cold winter without their fur. But in areas with more moderate winters, mange is a year-round problem, and it is extremely contagious, especially among social animals like canines. Barring secondary infections, it’s usually survivable (although it undoubtedly makes for a miserable existence, since the little buggers cause a devil of an itch).

Poor dog reminds me of Duece, the now-gorgeous GSD I rescued several years ago. He was feral and had just about as much hair as that disembodied canine head in the photo above. If I hadn’t lived and breathed Shepherds all my life I would not even have recognized him as one of the breed. But after a couple of injections of ivermectin and a liberal slathering of good ole Happy Jack Mange Medicine, and a lot of TLC, he is now a beautiful, healthy elderly gentleman of a German Shepherd Dog alive and well in sunny Florida, with a full coat of fur in glorious black and gold.

This poor critter could probably have been saved and rehabilitated too. I don’t see any mystery here, except : why are human beings so quick to jump to outrageous conclusions, when a perfectly reasonable explanation is right in front of them?