This time a week went by before I saw the Dogman again.
Well not him exactly. It was raining that day, a good summer shower. I used to sit out on the porch back home with my mother and we'd listen to and watch the rain hit the tin roof of our home. Even the thunderstorms, we sit out and listen and watch the lightening, listen to the thunder and the rain hit the tin.
After the rain ended, I planned to take Salem out for a ride, smell the ozone in the air and just...There really no words to describe how wonderful that feeling is only, Free.
But that plan went down the drain an hour later when the rain stopped.
I got my boots on, put my gun and knife on my waist and thigh respectfully on my right and left sides. I didn't bring my rifle this time. The last couple of times I saw the Dogman, he kept his distance and wasn't showing any signs of being aggressive towards me.
But that could be because I've not been aggressive towards him, just cautious and wary of him, keeping my distance of him.
I haven't fully let go of the fact that he could easily turn on me. But I have relaxed some at him keeping his distance.
As I walk towards Salem's shelter to saddle her up, I see some upturned ground between her shelter and the cabin. Like she had been out and trotting or galloping, but I had watched her during the rain from my porch, she hadn't been there.
For one, she was in her shelter during the rain. And two, Salem had a fence that didn't go between our homes. Her fence was on the back side and opposite side of facing the cabin.
So, this upturned ground couldn't be from her. I walk closer to the upturned ground and see these massive tracks in the fresh mud. I can't make out most of them, but there are a couple I'm able to see and they unnerve me.
One is like a massive dog or wolf print. Montana has wolves, but even the largest of them couldn't match these and given of what I know what else is out here now, and the massive human-like handprint near this print, I say human-like because it was shaped like a human's but bigger and had claw holes at the end of them.
I look around at the rest of the prints and upturned ground, trying to figure out where he had gone, but it was like he had ran around in the grass, enjoying the mud and ozone air well.
I still go and check on Salem just to be sure, the prints don't go near her fence or shelter, and they don't go near my cabin. But it would put me at more ease to know that Salem was alright.
She was calmly standing in her shelter, no injuries, no stress. Just as calm as she was when the rain started and she went right on out to her fenced in area.
I watch her for a few minutes then turn to go back to my cabin, looking at the prints again, wondering when the Dogman had time to do this and then realized that he must've been watching me, waiting for me to go inside to get my things.
I come back a moment later with my camera and took pictures, mostly of the ones I can make out and can see clearly, comparing my foot to them.
I go back in and began to think of the stories and shows that I've watched and heard. There was never a death, only these beasts charging at them, scaring them off. Other's it sounded like the creatures were curious.
These creatures were territorial. So maybe those stories were of a Dogman protecting his turf and of course those of stories I've always felt were because they were curious.
But this one. This one is a strange one. It's like he's trying to figure me out like I'm trying to figure him out.
I get out my laptop and began to look into Dogmen again, going over what I've missed or find something that could help me explain why this Dogman was behaving like this.
Could he be stalking me? Was he marking his territory by upturning the ground like he did? So many questions, but no answers in sight.