Dogman Encounters Founder Shares Podcast Origin and Cryptid Details

So, I stumbled across this wild interview the other night, and I just had to share it with everyone here. If you're into the paranormal scene at all, especially the canine cryptid side of things, you're going to want to check this one out. The video features a sit-down conversation between Doc, the host of a show called The Midnight Chronicles, and none other than Vic Cundiff himself, the man behind the wildly popular Dogman Encounters podcast. These two go way back, apparently. Doc actually appeared on Vic's other show, Bigfoot Witness, to share his own encounter story, and they've been friends in the podcasting world ever since. What makes this interview really compelling is how Vic opens up about the origins of Dogman Encounters. He traces it all the way back to 2007 and 2008, when he was a co-host on a Bigfoot-focused podcast called Campfire Shadows. The show had regulars, two guys named Tim "Kumbbo" Baker and Jim "Bear" Grant, who would come on and talk about their adventures chasing what they called "boogers" in the woods. For those unfamiliar with the term, "booger" is just Appalachian slang for Sasquatch, and it's been used in those mountains for generations. One particular episode, Vic recalls, the guys mentioned someone seeing a "dogfaced booger." That phrase alone was enough to make Vic's ears perk up. When he dug deeper, he learned the witness had stepped through some cypress trees into a clearing and came face-to-face with a massive dogman sitting with its back turned to him. The creature's back was described as being "like a billboard," and when it turned slightly, the witness caught sight of those unmistakable pointed ears on top of its head. The guy was terrified, frozen in place, just praying it wouldn't turn around. That story stuck with Vic. He kept thinking about how, if someone had a bad Sasquatch encounter, they could probably walk into their local corner store and find someone who understood what they went through. But if you had a terrifying run-in with a dogman? There was nowhere to turn. That realization eventually became the seed for Dogman Encounters Radio, which officially launched on August 22, 2014. And here's a fun behind-the-scenes detail Vic shared for the first time, the first episode of Dogman Encounters almost didn't happen. He recorded the interview with two guests, Chris Harris and Michael F. Smith, and everything went great until he went to pull up the file and found it had completely vanished from his computer. No explanation, no warning, just gone. Luckily, those guys were gracious enough to redo the entire interview. Lesson learned, always use a dedicated digital recorder. Now, the meat of the conversation gets really interesting when Doc asks Vic to break down what a dogman actually is. Vic explains that the term refers to a cryptid with canine features that walks on digitigrade legs, meaning they walk on their pads with their hocks held up in the air. Instead of ankles, they have hocks. Instead of knees, they have stifle joints. Basically, their leg structure resembles a dog's or a horse's, but with dog-like pads instead of hooves. Size-wise, these creatures are reported anywhere from six feet tall for younger ones up to a staggering twelve feet for mature individuals. And the variants are wild. Some look as unassuming as a timberwolf that can stand up and walk on its hind legs. Others resemble hyenas that walk bipedally on a regular basis. There are variants that look like the werewolves from the Underworld movies, and others that resemble the Van Helsing werewolf. Vic estimates there are at least seven or eight distinct variants that all fall under the canine-type dogman umbrella. Then there's the whole Type 3 conversation, which gets a bit tricky. Type 3s have hominid-style legs rather than canine-style legs, so technically they're not dogmen in the strictest sense. But a lot of people still call them Type 3 dogmen anyway. Vic points out the key anatomical differences between Type 3s and Sasquatch. Sasquatch always have fingernails and toenails, never claws. Type 3s have claws on their fingers and toes. Also, every tooth in a Type 3's mouth is sharp, which is never the case with Sasquatch. These are disqualifying features that separate the two. Some folks call Type 3s "goug" or "face eaters," and honestly, whatever name you use, the descriptions are consistent enough across reports that something real is being encountered out there. The interview cuts off right as Vic is getting into the part about how these creatures have forced encounters with eyewitnesses, leaving them convinced they're about to be attacked. It's a cliffhanger that makes you want to dig deeper into the Dogman Encounters archives for sure. If any of this piques your curiosity, definitely go watch the full interview. Vic Cundiff is one of the most knowledgeable people in the canine cryptid space, and hearing him tell these stories in his own words is worth the time. Plus, the banter between him and Doc makes it feel like you're just hanging out with two friends swapping campfire tales.