Mysterious Animal

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The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1953
Outdoors – with Russ Forbis
Mysterious Animal
A mysterious animal roaming under the cloak of darkness has been harassing the slumbers of the Lemon family east of Chillicothe. The strange animal set the family dogs howling for the first time several weeks ago in the early hours of the morning. For two hours the dogs bayed about the unseen creature as it moved slowly from north to south across the Lemon farm.
Several days passed before the animal returned again, this time earlier in the night and again the dogs set up a furor, circling and baying, apparently afraid or unwilling to attack. Came a few nights of peaceful slumber and the uproar in the pasture marked its return. Thereafter the nocturnal marauder, keeping the hours of the vampire and the ghoul returned regularly three consecutive evenings. It made queer sounds; was unafraid of the dogs, and the dogs although they expressed resentment at the invasion of their domain with a medley of howling and baying; failed to hurry the creature on its way, nor did they close in battle.
Said Jerry Lemon, “We don’t know what it is. We have heard it make a noise something like a hoot owl and something like a fox. Sometimes we have thought it was a coyote but we never found a single track. Fact is, we don’t know what is.”

The article doesn't mention a state but the newspaper is located in Missouri.