Chows also have several unique features, some of which are rarely found in any other breed besides Shar Peis. They have blue-gray or black tongues, a convex forehead, and very straight back legs. This animal was probably not a purebred chow, for one thing, it does not appear to be solid color. It looks like it had sort of a merle color, blue-gray with what looks like black markings and splotches, and silvery-gray fur in the tail.

This dog also seems to have some features of a Samoyed; it has a similar pattern of fur growth although they have white fur & their fur is longer. They do have wickedly long, curved canine teeth (though they are usually very friendly animals). Who knows – maybe this dog had long fur in winter.

If the eyes were indeed blue in life, it could indicate a husky, collie, Australian shepherd, or Australian cattle dog (blue heeler) cross. Wolf crosses can produce blue eyes, amber or greenish eyes too. Also, many kinds of dogs can be born with extra rudimentary toes known as dewclaws; they are quite common.

I believe that this “creature” was a chow mix. They closeup picture I first saw clearly shows a bluish tongue. Chow crossed with what? Probably has more than one breed in its background. I have seen chow-husky crosses that looked almost identical to this (we called them Chowskis). They were cute little pups which grew up to be compact adults that were powerful and aggressive.

Feral dogs can be very dangerous animals, especially when they gang up to form packs. They are medium-to-large, powerful carnivores, and they are much more dangerous to people than wolves or coyotes because they are more aggressive. Was this dog a male or a female? Can’t tell from the photos. I wonder if it has offspring running feral in the Maine woods?

I doubt that all the sightings and doings of the “mystery beast” can be attributed to this one individual. Maybe the officials in Maine SHOULD start taking a closer look at roadkilled canines.

Ms O’Donnell, I thank you for your generosity in allowing Cryptomundo to republish the photos as a part of the community discussions (regardless of final outcome!)

Being open enough to publish your accompanying letter is also courageous. Don’t take any negative commentary on any of the Cryptomundo posts to heart; it’s far too easy to be quick of pen.

Looking forward to DNA results, and looking forward to hearing more about the other beast that has, in fact, attacked some variety of canines.

Chris.

Back in the early 1990’s it was a real big fad to breed husky/timberwolf. They tried this with many other breeds as well. Unfortunately it turned out to be a very dangerous idea and it was stopped. I would also like to comment that I have a Shiba Inu and that would be a horrible combination with a chow. Possible, but I don’t see a resemblance to my shiba at all. Maybe it’s cousin the akita as that has a shorter snout.
I’ll be interested in the DNA results, if any on this pup.
BTW as far as animal control and the dep are concerned. Last week my hairdresser told me that a squrrill was sitting next to her salon door for no less than 4 hrs., worried for her customers she contacted both agencies and their responce was “you need to call the state police for that.” Well they didn’t because they would feel embarresed to call the police on such a matter. Talk about a waste of tax dollars. That’s just the tip of the ice berg in CT as far as the dep are concerned.