Strange "beast" prowling UK town is a dog.

Blackleaf

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Beast of Berkshire shows his soft side
By CHRIS BROOKE, Daily Mail

11th January 2006




The beast himself: Bernard the St Bernard


After Numerous sightings of a large, unidentified creature prowling round their town, the residents of Markinch thought they had a wild beast in their midst.

The discovery of a giant paw print seemed only to confirm the theory and prompted the police to organise a hunt aimed at finding the "potentially dangerous animal".

But as fear gripped parts of the community, one man began to suspect a somewhat more prosaic explanation for the phenomenon.

And yesterday the "serious" police inquiry was revealed to be no more than a shaggy dog story. Far from being a type of lynx or panther, as officers feared, the 'beast' has been identified as a St Bernard who prefers to spend his time sleeping rather than terrifying locals.

The dog, a four-year-old called Bernard, doesn't even live in the Fife town but regularly goes there when his owners Callum and Lisa Ford, from 350 miles away in Thatcham, Berkshire, visit relatives.

While in Markinch, he is taken on regular walks around the town's Balbirnie Park, which is 200 yards from the house of Mrs Ford's parents. One such trip took place last October, the weekend before a ten-strong team of police officers and animal experts scoured the park for evidence of the beast.

Mrs Ford's brother Mark Proctor, who also lives in Markinch, began to suspect the truth when he saw photographs in the local media of a police officer holding a cast of the paw print, which measured 10cm by 9cm.

When his sister next visited for Christmas, he measured Bernard's paws and found they were the same size as the mythical beast's. He also superimposed a photograph of the paw print on to a lifesize picture published in a local newspaper and found they matched exactly.

Huge dog

"Bernard is a huge dog - even for a St Bernard he's big - but he's no beast," said Mr Proctor. "Even I was worried about the rumours that were circulating.

"When I was out walking my parents' dog in the dark I was thinking there might be a big panther hiding behind a bush, but the prints are a dead-on match.

"I would hate to think that kids in the town could not play at Balbirnie Park like I did when I was young. I'm pretty sure I can declare it safe."

Mr and Mrs Ford, both 27, also agree the prints belong to their dog, who weighs 14st and measures 7ft from nose to tail.

Mr Ford, a financial adviser, said: 'He is a big softie. He loves everything, cats and humans alike. He doesn't have a bad bone in his body which is surprising given that he is a rescued dog who was beaten badly as a puppy.

"It is ironic that a dog as placid as Bernard could be mistaken for a big cat. He is more likely to run the other way than do anything else."

The family's view is supported by at least one expert. Andrew Kitchener, curator for mammals and birds at the National Museum of Scotland, had already said he thought the paw prints belonged to a "biggish dog".

Police were refusing to comment on the St Bernard theory yesterday. But whatever the paw prints were made by, some locals insist big cats still roam the area.

John Morton, chairman of Markinch Community Council, said: "There have been a lot of sightings. The local constabulary seem to think there could be as many as ten big cats around Fife."

dailymail.co.uk
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
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British people are very eccentric. They see a log floating in Loch Ness and think it's the monster.