On a cold, wet winter night, an unexpected guest plays with my pack of mutts, leaving me scratching my head over what I saw. Get the spooky encounter after the jump.

Listen To The Phantom Black Dog Encounter

A Spooky Black Dog Played With My Pack Of Rescue Mutts

It’s about 9 PM on a cold-and-wet winter night in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve got my fur kids out one more time. You know, that last play-and-potty break before my 7 (yes, seven!) rescue mutts settle in for the night.

Dannii and Kylie wrestled along the fence line that separated my apple orchard from the Christmas tree field. They’re big girls: Saint Bernard mixes with the floofiest brown and white fur. They’d chase each other, hop around, and race along the edge of the fence … until one would inevitably trip and crash. Then, the other sister would pounce! This time, Kylie crashed and Dannii pounced!

My other 3 pooches, whom I call the Mid Kids, swirled like dervishes in the middle of the apple orchard. Derby, a gray-and-white pit bull; Roxy, a brown pit bull; and Ollie, a black German Shepherd-Malinois-Doberman mix, ran between the trees, slipping and sliding, when they went too fast.

Mikey and Daisy, both senior pitties, skipped the play time and slept next to the fireplace inside.

I had turned on a flood light to illuminate the backyard. It cast long, deep shadows across the lawn and orchard. The apple trees looked like gnarled and contorted demon claws without their leaves. But the dogs never seemed to notice how spooky it was.

After 30 minutes or so of breakneck running, hopping, and spinning out of control, the fur kids got tired. Roxy and Derby, who never get tired of chasing each other, came to me on the patio first. They huffed and puffed and drank some water. Then pawed the door. I guess it was officially time to come inside for the night.

Next, Dannii and Kylie trotted over and yawned when they saw me on the patio. After a few gulps of water, they stretched and pawed the door. Yep, they were definitely done for the night.

But I didn’t see Ollie.

Even with the flood light on, half the yard was covered in darkness. The Pacific Northwest and its rural countryside sinks into the shadows at night. It can feel so dark, it’s like someone poured ink in your eyes.

Overhead, a clear sky sprinkled with stars watched it all. Let’s just say … Most February nights are just gray cloud smear, thick as gravy.

I grabbed the orange-and-black flashlight pistol off a table on the patio. One push and the beam carved a tunnel through the dark.

About halfway to the back fence, I saw a black dog like a German Shepherd. It trotted toward the gate splitting the orchard from the Christmas tree field. Its ears perked up, straight up, as the light hit it.

I called to Ollie. I mean, it had to be Ollie, right? What other black German-Shepherd dog-like thing could it be? But Ollie had those soft, folded over ears you see on natural Dobies.

The dog turned its head at me then. It had glowing blue eyes, and it heaved out a breath like it was tired of playing. Its huff formed a foggy cloud in the cold, damp air.

Behind me, I heard a shuffling sound.

Then a whine.

Then scratching on the patio doors.

It was Ollie. Ollie was behind me the whole time.

And in front of me ….

The black dog cocked its head and stepped into the shadowy orchard trees. Its blue eyes fading as its body melded with the darkness.

After it faded, I rushed to the spot and found nothing. No tracks left behind. I ran over to the gate to check if something could crawl under it (though that dog was too big to crawl under the gate). Nothing. No digging marks.

When I brought Ollie in, I counted up all the dogs. Seven. I even checked the doggie door. Locked.

There’s only one thing I think it could be …

A phantom black dog.

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Have you encountered a phantom black dog? If so, let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading Ghostly Activities. Much appreciated and take care!