Texas Fact, Fiction, Myth

NY2TX's picture
Submitted by NY2TX on Mon, Jan 18 2010 - 3:45 PM

There are so many stories. Thanks to @JennaSnacks via @foxaustin we are treated to pictures of the mythical beast, the Chupacabra, or is it?

Comments

softwarejanitor's picture

I believe that the article

Submitted by softwarejanitor on Mon, Jan 18 2010 - 4:40 PM.

I believe that the article is partially correct. That probably isn't a coyote with a very bad case of mange (as most supposed Chupacabra sightings are), it appears to be a fox with mange.

NY2TX's picture

I don't either way. I love

Submitted by NY2TX on Tue, Jan 19 2010 - 5:30 AM.

I don't either way. I love the Texas myth part of Chupacabra. "Seen one, seen 'em all."

jdunham's picture

I also believe it to be a

Submitted by jdunham on Mon, Jan 25 2010 - 10:10 AM.

I also believe it to be a fox with mange. Taking away the fur from an animal that we are only accustomed to seeing with fur appears to turn it into something else entirely. I am a bit surprised, though, that a vet seemed so clueless.

--
Jerry Dunham
Seen it before

softwarejanitor's picture

Most vets are really only

Submitted by softwarejanitor on Mon, Jan 25 2010 - 10:52 AM.

Most vets are really only trained on and familiar with animals that are commonly domesticated. If they live and work in the city they don't see many coyotes or fox up close and personal.

jdunham's picture

In fact, I've been surprised

Submitted by jdunham on Mon, Jan 25 2010 - 12:34 PM.

In fact, I've been surprised by how little many vets know about specific, less common dog breeds. My own vet, whom I hold in very high regard, didn't know what a Plott Hound was when I first mentioned that I'd rescued one many years ago, and that's the state dog of North Carolina - not all that rare. If I were to show up with an Entlebucher Sennenhund I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I was making that up. (Yes, there's at least one Entlebucher breeder in Texas, and I've had Entlebucher mixes in rescue.)

This extrapolates to most vets. And I'll bet it extrapolates to other common species. Vets have to have such a huge body of knowledge to care for such widely varying species (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, amoebas - well, maybe not the last one) that it's not surprising that some of the more specialized knowledge escapes them. No human doc is required to know as much.

Still, it's a bit surprising that a vet wouldn't be able to see beyond the skin condition to recognize the underlying species, even if he couldn't tell a red fox from a grey fox without the fur. They deal with demodectic mange every week.

--
Jerry Dunham
Founder, Tejas Coonhound Rescue

matt's picture

I never heard of Chupacabra

Submitted by matt on Tue, Jan 19 2010 - 7:35 AM.

I never heard of Chupacabra until about a year ago; second time I've heard about it. We didn't have Chupacabra in the Northeast. We had Bigfoot.

NY2TX's picture

Sure! Up really NORTH where

Submitted by NY2TX on Tue, Jan 19 2010 - 8:03 AM.

Sure! Up really NORTH where you lived, they had Yetti. The Chupacabra sort of looks like on of those Chinese Ugly Dogs.

But enough frivolity.

jeteye's picture

No, the only blood sucker I

Submitted by jeteye on Tue, Jan 19 2010 - 10:17 AM.

No, the only blood sucker I know of in Texas is the mosquitoes and my ex-wife (wink, wink). Both of them are NOT imaginary!!!

NY2TX's picture

But if you could prove that

Submitted by NY2TX on Tue, Jan 19 2010 - 3:37 PM.

But if you could prove that your ex-wife was imaginary, then maybe you'd be off the hook :)