Things that go bump in the night... Unknown beasts.

[Frenchy]

My oddball night last night.

Have you ever been out at night and seen a large “thing” that you could not quite explain because you just did not see enough of it?

Some thing that was so large, it could only be illogical to see it there? Yet because it is dark, you do not quite know what it is you saw.

I drive back roads home, Unfortunately with out my gun as I am coming home from work, last night around 10:45 was no different, I was driving slowly because in the past few nights, I have seen deer and the last thing I want is a deer ornament on my hood…

Not that they are big deer, but I don’t want any part of the truck damaged if I can avoid it… So I drive the limit.. 25 to 35 pending where I am and with the lights on the new GMC trucks, you see a good distance ahead, mainly with the high beams on.

Last night, I was driving home, and a good song comes on, some thing I had not heard In a while, so I turn up the radio, window is down, and I am smoking my cigar going the speed limit there… 35.

My mind saw some thing I immediately transfigured as a moose up ahead… You know how the mind works, “There are no moose in PA. Maybe a caribou.. Wait there are no Caribou in PA…” In reality I just saw what seemed to be 4 very long legs and a dark shape in an even darker background… Like watching a shadow cross the road in the dark, some thing undefined that raises the hair on the back of your neck, but damn that was too big to be a deer.

So now I am listening to an old song, cigar in my mouth, hitting the brakes, and trying to see what I can’t quite see… and out the side window I see this large thing making its way into the bush and think, it could only be a horse!

Now I only know of one place that has horses on my way home, and I know this place is well made, the fence is always well painted and the fields are always clean and impeccable, this man takes very good care of his beasts. So my thought is maybe it is one of his, but how could it be? His ranch is 4 maybe 5 miles away in a straight line, Doh! Horses can move, mostly if spooked for some reason, 4 to 5 miles is nothing! I keep going and slow down even more knowing he has at least 3 horses I see regularly and figuring if on is out, maybe all 3 are.
Not being sure it is this man’s horse I saw, I figured I would leave it at that, there are other places I am sure that have large animals like horses… then I drive past the ranch and see a large portion of fencing missing.. Shit, it has to be! Only problem is where does he live?
So just past the nice white fence, I stop at the first house to see if this is their house. There are no lights on, it is darker then pitch outside, and I decide to leave my truck running and lights on.

At this point, I am a little concerned for the horse, but very concerned about me. How would I respond to some one ringing my bell at 11pm? But I have to go see, my mind also says if the tables where turned, how would I feel if I owned a horse or a few and found out they where gone…

I knock and ring the bell to the house, backing up from the door each time I do, finally after a few minutes, what seemed like an hour, a young man comes to a window and shouts out, can I help you?
I explain to him what had happened, what I had seen and what I believe could have been a horse on the road. He and his wife come out, they do not look menacing at all more concerned as I am and explain they are not the ranch owner, he lives out back, in the field… they know him, but do not have his phone number… I apologizes, get back in the truck, go down the other driveway that brings me some 5 to 600 hundred feet behind this home, totally invisible from the street. Eureka, there is light!

So I make my high beams hit the house so that anyone inside can see some one is coming up their drive way, again leave the truck running and go to the door, this time, the man is already waiting for me at the door and again I say to my self, at 11Pm I would have my gun in hand.. This man defiantly looked like he might have a few guns too.
Again I explain what I seen and how I wanted to be sure his horses are safe and sound.

He says that earlier in the day, some car wiped out, went into the field and busted up his fence, but he has it all wired up, besides his daughter put the horses in around 9:30 or 10… a shout back in the house confirms the horses are in their stalls, the barn door is open, but that is not unusual, the horses are safe.

He explains to me there is an other farm /Ranch he knows of where the horse regularly escapes, he will look them up and ask them if they are all there, he takes the info about where I saw the beast and I thank them for their time and again apologize for disturbing them.

As I a driving away, I said to myself, you are one lucky SOB to be driving away, there are many who would have pointed a gun at you for waking them at 11pm when it is obvious they where in or close to going to bed. A complete stranger knocks on the door…

Of course, my work uniform is gray and light blue with a blue vest, I could easily pass for a police from far, but this does not make one safe in the dark. I am sure my concern for the horse took away any fear they might have had of a madman coming to invade their homes. But what if I had come across some one with less understanding..

What would you have done unarmed, dark as you can imagine people you do not know? Both sides of the fence here, as me or as the home owners I woke up, would you have handled it the same way?

Anyways, I did not have a cell phone on me to call 911, maybe I would have called them right away if I did, maybe I need to take my old cell and plug it in the truck just for that.

[imp81318]

I had a similar conversation to this scenario about a year or so ago. That conversation really opened my eyes to how upbringing can really affect one's views on situations like this. The others in the conversation had grown up considerably more liberal than I - one in Cherry Hill, NJ and the other in NYC, whereas I grew up on what had been my great-grandmother's farm, on a dead end road. Anyway, we had severly different takes on this very type of situation.

I would have handled it much the same way you did in your position. I would have been a bit "alerted", but conducted myself the same way you seem to have - present as not threatening, stand back, in the light, keep my hands up... You never know how the other side of hte door will present itself to you, so be alert, but more often than not I think in this situation that person will be glad you told them, even if it isn't their horse, as was the case here. Even if armed, once he realizes your intentions I think he'd be likely to calm quickly.

Had I been the one being awoken at 11 PM, I may have come to the door armed, or I may not have. But I certainly would have been cautious and checked before opening the door...

[camper]

Elk maybe? Aren't there Elk in NW PA? Not sure where you live though...

Could be a bear, too.

Also, having a gun pointed at you doesn't mean you'll end up dead The concern is justified, though....

camper

[Frenchy]

Elk maybe? Aren't there Elk in NW PA? Not sure where you live though...

Could be a bear, too.

Also, having a gun pointed at you doesn't mean you'll end up dead The concern is justified, though....

camper

I have seen bear, I have seen big bears, if one ever presents its self that can walk next to a truck and the back is higher then the cab.. I will quite literally shit my self on the spot!

No i am talking Moose sized or a horse in the 17 to 18 hand range. some thing tall but without definition. Question is more based on what would people have done as the rancher or as me trying to inform. Not on what the beast was.

Strictly by memory here, but is an Elk not much more stout then a horse? more like a very large pony?

[bigdog02]

Sounds like a horse or a cow or something to me.
If it had been any later than that, I may have just called the police (not 911) and said what I saw and where I saw it and they may want to get an officer to go around to the farms you mentioned.
Any later than about 11 - and it would be getting into the "it might be dangerous to go knocking on doors".
I think you did the right thing given the situation and timeframe. The people you met were good as well, could have been a lot worse folks.

As far as what should the farmer/other people have done coming to the door. Having a gun on them or within reach behind the door would be what I would consider safe. I am sure some folks will post up not to answer the door or yell through the door - which are both fine options and very SAFE options and you could have gotten your message across and they could haev received it without them having to open themselves up.
Personally, I would want to see who was at the door, so i would have opened the door with either a handgun behind my back, foot bracing the door so it can not open any further or a shotgun right beside the door with hand on it or near it.
I was awoken late one night this past winter with a knock on our door. As I was walking tot he door, i grabbed the 9mm and the phone. Figuring either would be an item I may need.
As I was walking to the door, i flipped on al the floodlights we have, all exterior lights, etc. and lit our house up like the fourth of july.
I got to the door (gun behind back and phone in my hand).
It is a tiny woman, i open the door - screen door still locked and said good evening.
Her car died right on the highway in front of our house, and her phone was dead and asked if she could call someone to pick her up.
I said sure and unlocked the door with the phone hand, still not displaying the gun behind my back. I handed the phone out to her, but it was like 3 degrees outside, and she began dialing the number, so I relaxed a bit and invited her in to call inside (RIGHT inside the door).
She made her call, thanked us profusely and left. Buttoned up the house again and left the exterior lights on for a while.
There was a car down on the highway in front of our house 4 ways on and within 10 mins another car showed up and picked her and her baby it seems (who she left in the car to come up to our house). Car was towed sometime in the night.

[MaxPower]

were-'possum. Load up the silver bullets!

[crlovel]

Frenchy saw a Bigfoot!

[Brick]

Don't worry it's only a loup garou!

[4XLT]

i thin i woul dliek to knwo what it was and go back to where you saw it go into the brush, and track it, at least see what the tracks look like, musta beena horse or something though...

[The_Hessian]

Some people in my area the past few days(East Sub's of PGH) say they seen a Bobcat...