What will prove to be major disappointment to thousands of Mainers, preliminary DNA testing result show that the “Mystery Beast” is nothing more than a dog.
For those of you who have missed the evolution and the hubbub of this major event in rural Maine, you can begin your quest of reading all the stories by scrolling to the bottom of the page and finding links to the titles of each post.
To many the death of a strange looking canine type animal on Route 4 near Turner, Maine about 2 weeks ago, will end in defeat as they hoped it would prove to be a creature of unexplained origin. Preliminary testing done at the University of Maine shows the creature is some kind of canine mix – a feral dog of an odd breed.
But the good news is the legend of the real Mystery Beast will live on. Residents in the sleepy little central Maine town have already begun to turn their attention back to the woods, in the direction from whence cometh the eerie sounds at night, the glowing eyes some have claimed to see. They will be waiting for the first report that the Beast lives on.
More test will be forthcoming but scientists are not hopeful that anything definitive will be revealed, only to further declare the animal found beside the road is in fact a feral dog. The Lewiston Sun-Journal covered this story as they have other reports of strange Maine creatures over the years. The newspaper collected a foot from what was left of the remains of the dog and now a lab in Toronto, Canada is running further DNA tests.
Over the years, the Lewiston Sun-Journal has been in touch with its readers understanding their desires to talk about legends like this, strange creatures like the Chupacabra, the loup-garou, a Wendigo, something extra-terrestrial or a product of the devil himself.
Whether residents want to embellish such stories or put an end to them, as was the case for some in Turner, the Lewiston-based newspaper understood what the residents wanted and needed. They followed this story and many others.
Unlike the Maine Warden Service, who refused to dispatch a warden to investigate, they turned a deaf ear to the people of Maine, projecting their department as an uncaring, non-compassionate organization that looked at Maine residents as a bother, an expense and a bunch of emotionally charged, inexperienced observers who were bothering them. The public relations became a nightmare as Mainers complained. The head of the Warden Service, Col. Thomas Santaquida, still sticks to his “we followed the book” mantra. I guess they just don’t get it.
Yes, the Maine Warden Service followed the book but this was one time, only one, where they should have set the book aside for a couple of hours and appeased the masses by showing they really do care. They need to take a lesson from the Lewiston Sun-Journal.
But not to fear! Maine still has a legend to embellish, a Stephen King kind of story that they can cling to – at least those who find pleasure in that. Perhaps Mr. King will take this opportunity to begin another of his works by creating a thriller starring central Maine’s Mystery Beast.
One world renowned expert in the field of crptozoology knows how to play this legend game. Loren Coleman, who did go to the scene to lend expertise, had this to say:
“Sometimes people are so emotionally involved in trying to ‘solve’ the mystery, there’s a rush to explain the bigger picture with what I call random coincidental events,” Coleman said. “I think there still is a mystery beast out there in the woods around Turner.”
What more can be said than that?
*Previous Posts*
Let’s Not Forget Maine’s Mystery Beast
Maine’s Mystery Beast Popular Worldwide- Gets No Respect Locally
Maine’s Warden Service Guilty of PR Nightmare – Mystery Beast’s Death Making Quite a Stir
Continuing Coverage of the Mystery Beast
Killed in Maine But What Is It?
Tom Remington
