Matanuska Valley Dogman

Report from NADP website:

10/27/1998 - My encounter took place many years ago. I never had the faintest explanation for it until a couple months ago, when I randomly stumbled across Dogman on the internet. I was in my early 20s, working swing shifts at the time and commuting about 100 miles each way, so it was usually around 2:00 in the morning by the time I got home. I saw the 'monster' (as I called it) on the northern-most section of Trunk Road in the Matanuska Valley, in Alaska. This area is roughly smack in between the towns of Palmer and Wasilla. I was only about 10 miles from home at that point, so it must have been around 2:00 a.m. Trunk Road is a narrow, 2-lane road, consisting of nothing but twists and turns. The surrounding terrain is somewhat swampy and thick with black spruce. It was late October; days before Halloween. There was no snow on the ground, but it was cold enough to be wary of ice. I was driving an '82 Subaru SW, going about 20 MPH around a curve, when my headlights caught a large, dark figure up ahead. I'm bad at judging distance; maybe 6 car lengths away. I instinctively let off the gas, coasting closer. At first I assumed it was a moose, as the area is infested with them; but no, it was standing upright. Bear, then. No, not a bear. It looked so strange... tall enough to be an uncommonly large bear, but far too slender, and it looked like it had spikes running down its neck and back. A Halloween prop? Odd but effective place for one. All those thoughts ran through my head in a fraction of a second. The car was still coasting closer and I could see more details; it was standing in profile, gazing across the road. I could clearly see its wolfish muzzle, large, upright ears; the 'spikes' on its back were in fact clumps of fur. Its spine curved in a smooth, very natural-looking way. It was standing in the ditch, inches from the pavement. Because I was focused on its upper body, I do not recall anything about its back legs or if it had a tail. I did see its front legs though; very 'doggy' looking, hanging awkwardly down and slightly toward its front, exactly as you'd expect if a dog stood upright. While it clearly had a canine look, there was still something 'off' about it that I cannot articulate. It was perfectly still, and at this point, given the proximity to Halloween, I was quite convinced it was some sort of Halloween prop, because it was clearly not any kind of existing animal. I was deeply impressed and gently stepped on the brakes, intending to stop and examine it closely. Then it turned its head towards me. In the tiny fraction of a second that it took for it to swivel its head, I knew I had made a terrible mistake. The fluidness of its movement removed any and all doubt that this was some kind of prop. It was horribly, terrifyingly alive. The pale, off-white glow of its eye shine in the headlights destroyed any possibility of a human in a costume. I think I sat there gaping at it in shock for a few seconds, the car barely moving by now, but still inching closer. As I was almost upon it---I think it could have leaned forward and touched the car if it had wanted---I had to look up to see its face; again I'm a bad judge of such things, but I am 5'4" and it was a hell of a lot taller than me. Tall like a polar bear standing. 7 feet? 8? I really can't say. I snapped out of my trance and slammed on the gas. The car fishtailed and I prepared myself for death-by-monster, as I was certain I'd end up in the ditch, but the tires caught the pavement and I drove like a complete maniac all the way home. I did not look back. I have only been on that section of road a few times since, never alone and never in the dark. For the next several years of driving that commute, I went 20+ miles out of the way to avoid Trunk Road. The thing never made any aggressive moves, but there was something about it that felt very... I don't know... predatory. I never saw anything remotely like it again and never heard any stories about it in the area.