CUERO - Phylis
Canion is mystified,
baffled and, at one
point, she was a
little bit
frightened.
What exactly is the
mysterious animal
that she has seen on
her property: the
storied Chupacabra,
a coyote with mange,
or some breeding
experiment gone
horribly wrong?
The story begins two
Saturdays ago when
Canion got a call.
She was told one of
the animals she had
first seen on her
property about two
years ago had been
hit by a car and
killed. Canion's
property is on
Buenger Road off
U.S. Highway 183
south of Cuero.
"I had seen one
three or four times
on our place, but
it's very elusive.
So, when I got the
call that one had
been killed, I got
it and took it back
to the house,"
Canion said. "It's a
strange-looking
animal. It has short
front legs and
longer back legs.
The paws on the
front are different
than the ones on the
back, and it has no
hair. The nose is
very long. The tip
of the nose is
longer than the
lower jaw, and the
front teeth stick
out, almost like
fangs. They are the
ugliest things I
have ever seen in my
life."
Canion said that
after she first saw
the animal on her
property, she began
losing kittens
during the night.
"I don't know if it
was related or not,
so I began to set a
chicken out at
night," she said. "I
would find the
chicken the next day
with all the blood
drained out. The
carcass was left
behind. The scariest
thing that happened
was the day I found
the chicken on my
back porch. All the
blood was sucked
out, and there was
not one drop of
blood on my porch."
Canion said a
neighboring property
owner has reported a
sheep found devoid
of blood.
"Others I have
talked to have seen
it, too," Canion
said. "But they
didn't tell anyone
because they were
afraid people would
think they are
crazy."
DeWitt County
Extension Agent
Anthony Netardus
looked at the
photographs of the
carcass of the
mysterious animal.
"I'd rather defer to
the experts, but it
looks to me like it
might be a coyote
with a severe case
of mange," he said.
Canion called in a
local game warden
who admitted he
didn't know what the
animal was and took
her photographs to
the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department
in Austin, Canion
said.
"They said it's not
a mangy coyote," she
said.
Local veterinarian
Robert Beer also
examined the
photographs. "I
can't say for sure
without actually
examining the
animal, especially
the head. But it
looks like a coyote
with mange. I have
seen this in coyotes
and foxes. It could
even be a domestic
dog," he said.
Canion said she will
soon be sending a
"sample" to Texas
A&M for DNA testing.
"I have also sent
the pictures to
National Geographic,
and they wrote back
and said they would
be in touch soon,"
Canion said.
She has her own
theory about why at
least three of these
animals have been
seen in recent days.
Another was killed
near her property,
and one was killed
near the Guadalupe
River bridge, both
hit by cars.
"We don't see ever
see three coyotes
dead on the road,"
Canion said. "Why
all of a sudden? I
think they must live
in a hole, in a den.
We've had more than
20 inches of rain at
our house recently,
and I think it
forces them out of
their holes."
"I have also heard a
rumor, but haven't
been able to
substantiate it,
that some years ago
some experiments
were done breeding
different species.
So who knows what
this might be?"
Canion said.
She thinks the
mystery will soon be
solved.
"Between Texas A&M
and National
Geographic, I bet we
can come up with
some answers," she
said.
Sonny Long is a
reporter for the
Advocate. Contact
him at 361-275-6319
or
cueroadv@vicad.com,
or comment on this
story
here.
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DeWitt mystery
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