Lighthouse Horror Podcast - I Work at a Pet Store in OHIO. One of Our Dogs is a SKINWALKER | Scary Stories

Episode Date: November 11, 2023

Do you want her?      Story from Blair Daniels Make sure to check out more of their work at u/BlairDaniels                             Original Post: I visit my dead mother every night : r/nosleep  Original YouTube link: I Work at a Pet Store in OHIO.  One of Our Dogs is a SKINWALKER       For more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel: Lighthouse Horror | YouTube  Patreon: Lighthouse Horror | Patreon Merch: lighthousehorror.com  Music: Lucas King - YouTube Myuu - YouTube  Incompetech Darren Curtis Music - YouTube  Thank you for listening to this scary story! If you enjoyed this new creepypasta story, please check out some of my other horror stories. We'll be uploading new episodes every week, featuring ghost stories, haunted encounters, mysteries, true stories, creepypasta, and anything supernatural and paranormal. Don't miss out on the thrill and suspense that await you in each episode!

Have you ever looked at a dog and thought that there's something behind their eyes? Like they're smarter than they look? I've seen it with hundreds of dogs. But this was the first time I met a dog where it seemed like they're smarter than me. More than that, looking into Lucy's eyes felt like looking at a knife's edge. There's a danger behind those eyes. And Lucy is simply choosing not to hurt you. I live in a small town in eastern Ohio. In the middle of town, there's a pet store that's

been owned by a local family for generations. It has mice, snakes, ferrets, and various birds. We even have a couple dogs and cats from the local animal shelter. In general, I've always enjoyed my job here. I've always loved working with animals. Of course, we've had our fair share of problems. I still remember the time that Chihuahua bit me. But overall, I do love it here. That all changed, though, when Lucy arrived. Lucy was a mixed breed. We weren't really sure what breeds were in her genetics, but my co-worker Andy and I had fun guessing. She had a fluffy undercoat and curled tail, which made me think husky, or, you know, something close to it. Her Her ears were floppy, though, and her fur was a shiny gray color.

Andy guessed she was part greyhound. Lucy also had blue eyes, which is quite rare. There was no denying that she was a beautiful dog. But as soon as she arrived at the pet store, everything started going wrong. I still remember the day I brought her into the dog room. At the time, we had a German shepherd and a small mixed breed dog. As soon as we entered the room, both of them started growling at her. Teeth bared.

Hackles raised. They couldn't stop staring at her. I had never seen them growl like that. Hey, hey, it's okay, I said, trying to calm him down. The German shepherd let out a deep bark. The small dog retreated to the corner of his crate, trying to get as far away from Lucy as possible. I led Lucy to her cage and shut the door, hoping that the dogs would calm down. They didn't. Two hours later, the dogs were still growling and barking, and the strangest thing of all

was that Lucy didn't even seem bothered by it. She just lay there in a crate, looking at them calmly and perfectly still. We eventually decided to move Lucy to the captain, We weren't housing any cats at the time. Our manager said she'd reschedule future cat adoptions until the dog was adopted. Shouldn't take long for a beautiful dog like that, she said. Yeah, she's quiet too. Barely barks or anything, I replied. But a week passed.

She didn't get adopted. The little dog was adopted before her. though he yapped so loud it made my brain hurt. For some reason, people seemed put off by her. And then I found out why Andy was usually the one to supervise the pet visits. When a family came over to adopt, she'd take the pet into our adoption room and let them all hang out, you know, to see if they were a good fit. But one day, Andy called in sick, and I had to supervise a visit between a family and Lucy. I was feeling pretty good about it.

It was a family of three, mom, a dad, and a little boy. The mother, who seemed to be the one in charge, was immediately attracted to Lucy. Wow, what a beautiful dog, she said, looking into the cage. And so calm, too. Wow, so quiet. So I took Lucy out of her crate, and I loved it. letter to the adoption room, where the Robinsons were waiting. And then I took a seat in the corner, and I let the family interact with her. And that was when I finally realized why no one

would adopt her. She didn't act the way you'd expect a dog to. She didn't approach the family, or lick their hands, or wag her tail. She didn't cower away from them in fear either. She simply walked into the corner of the room and sat down. She'd just stare at them with those cold blue eyes. An awkward silence filled the room. Finally, the boy got up and cautiously approached the dog. He asked if he could pet her. I nodded.

He patted around the head a few times. At first, she ignored him. and then she slowly turned to look at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then the boy backed away. They made a few other attempts to connect with Lucy. There were toys in the adoption rooms, and the mother squeaked a squeaky toy,

trying to get her interested. There was no reaction. The boy grabbed a knotted rope for tug-of-war and held it in front of her, trying to get her to play. She didn't. She just stared at him. The family left empty-handed.

And I led Lucy back to her room all alone. And now I noticed something I hadn't before. As I passed by our other animals on display, they reacted to her. The mice scurried towards the opposite side of the cage, squeaking loudly. The birds squawked and fluttered to different perches. Even the fish seemed agitated, swimming back and forth in their tanks. I led Lucy back to her crate. As I closed the door and secured the lock, she stared up at me with those ice-blue eyes.

And I felt a chill run down my spine. Over the next few days, I tried to play with Lucy. Maybe she was just having trouble adjusting to the new environment. I took her into the adoption room myself. I squeezed the squeaky toy. I shook the tug-of-war toy. I brought out some treats. But she just sat there, still as a statue, watching my every move with those bright blue

eyes. I took her for a walk on Thursday afternoon. We stayed in the parking lot and on the sidewalk next to the road. And she seemed completely disinterested in her surroundings. She didn't bark at the squirrel we passed. She didn't sniff the ground or pull at her leash. She just slowly walked by my side. And it was unnerving.

I felt like I was walking a robot or a human wearing a dog suit. It certainly didn't feel like I was walking a dog. And when we passed another dog on the sidewalk, it had the same reaction to her as the other dogs in the store. It backed away from her, snarling bearing its teeth. Lucy didn't growl or bark back. She just stared at it. She did react to one thing, though. About a half mile from the pet store, there's a small cemetery.

As soon as we got close, Lucy began to. digging her paws into the cement. I gently tugged on her leash. All right, come on, Lucy, just a little further. But she didn't budge. A chill went down my spine again. Could she see or sense something that I couldn't? Okay, okay, I told her.

We'll go back to the store. As if she understood my words, she turned around and started heading back to the store. Now I know my experience with dogs is limited. I haven't had a dog of my own in years, but I have never seen a dog act like that before, and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong with her. Something terribly wrong. When Andy got back to work, I asked her about Lucy. Hey, uh, where'd you get her again? She came from Brightview Rescue, I think. Why? Andy replied, cocking her head at me. Doesn't she freak you out a little bit? I asked.

No? Andy laughed. And I took a different approach. Okay, she doesn't act normal. She just sits there and stares at everything. Oh, come on. Dogs have different personalities. She said. Some are loud, some are quiet, some are friendly, some are shy. She's just one of the shyer ones. But don't worry, she'll find the perfect family in no time.

I frowned. I mean, Andy was probably right. She had a lot more experience with dogs than I did. My family had a collie mix when I was a kid. That was it. had two dogs of her own at home. She'd been working at the pet store a lot longer than I had. I decided to call Brightview Rescue to find out more about Lucy, though, if I knew her family history. Maybe I could understand why she was acting so strange. Maybe I'd even be able to help her.

Who knows? Maybe a small change to her environment, like giving her a different room or giving her different toys. Maybe that would make all the difference. When I called, they transferred me to a guy named Michael. He'd apparently handled all of Lucy's stuff when she was there. He told me a strange story. First off, he couldn't give me her family history, because he found her in the woods, right in the middle of nowhere. Second, he described the exact same stuff we'd been dealing with, All the other dogs of the shelter barked and growled at her. A lot of people were interested in adopting her because she looked so unique. But they quickly lost interest when all she did was stare at them.

You know, I even had one guy ask me if she was a robot. He said with a laugh. Like he actually thought we were trying to pass off some AI robot. That dog is the real thing. And you don't know anything about where she came from? I asked again. And then he told me something that chilled me to the core. When Michael first found her, he'd assumed she was a runaway.

Even though she was a mile out into the woods and didn't have a collar, she looked very well cared for. She wasn't thin or dehydrated or anything. So we'd spent that first week combing the end. internet and local bulletin boards for a missing dog that looked like Lucy. He found one. He immediately called them up, telling them he'd found their dog. But they told him that couldn't be possible.

Because their dog had already been found two weeks ago. So this dog, it looked exactly like Lucy. Michael told me. The photo could have easily been a photo of her. Such a coincidence, you know. I mean, she is a very unusual-looking dog. To have two dogs like that in this small town, he went on and on about it for a while.

And I had to agree with him. It was a very strange coincidence. For a long time after I hung up the first, phone. I just stared at the wall. The more I learned about Lucy, the more uneasy I got. And I couldn't help but think there is something terribly wrong with this dog. That night, I found myself all alone in the store after closing time. Andy and I had an agreement. She dealt with the reptiles, and I cleaned the grooming station after clothes. I've been afraid of snake since I was a kid. So I was all too happy to sweep up dog hair for an hour if it meant I

didn't have to deal with those things. I headed towards the grooming station at the back of the store. Humming. I began to sweep up the mounds of dog and cat hair that had piled up throughout the day. I was almost done when I heard it. Barking. Wild, frantic barking echoing through the pet store. on my neck stood on end. I stood up and whipped around, scanning the store. From my vantage point, though, I couldn't see much. Did somebody break in? That was the only possible explanation. But I definitely locked the door after Andy left, and the alarm didn't go off. I grabbed a pair of sharp scissors, and I headed down the aisle. The barking grew louder and more frantic as it rang in my And that wasn't the only sound.

From the aisle next to me, I heard the other animals. Birds screeching, snakes hissing, mice scampering wildly through their cages. I took a deep breath. I readied myself behind a display of cat food, and then I turned the corner and... Nothing. The front door was closed. The windows weren't broken. I let out the breath I'd been holding.

There was no way anyone could be inside the store right now. We were located inside a strip mall, so there were only two possible entry points, the front door, which I checked, and the back door near the grooming station. I didn't know why the dogs were barking. But I was safe. I tucked the scissors into my pocket, and I turned around to finish cleaning. And that's when I saw it. The door to Lucy's room was open.

Did she escape? I walked towards the door, my heart pounding in my chest. That's all I needed. For Lucy to pee in the middle of the store or break open some dog food or do something else that required another hour of cleanup. But when I poked my head into the room, I gasped. The entire left wall of Lucy's cage had been broken off. It lay on the ground, slightly denned.

And Lucy was nowhere to be found. Okay, just what I needed. I muttered under my breath. Then, raising my voice, I called for her. Lucy? Lucy? Lucy, where are you? The animals had grown quiet now.

The store was dead silent. Another chill ran through me. I stood frozen, listening for the click of dog nails on tile. Lucy, have treats for you. I grabbed the box of treats off the shelf and shook it. Here, girl. Nothing. What kind of dog doesn't come for trees?

I mean, all the other dogs would have come running. I began to search the store, starting with a small pet aisle. I passed the snakes first, which were coiled up at the back of their cages. Forked tongues flicked out as they watched me, a few of them hissing. I continued pass to the birds, who looked at me and, And then past the mice who burrowed deep in the pine shavings, it almost seemed like they were trying to hide. Lucy, I called. And then I froze.

There was a shadow in front of me, stretching out farther than my own. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I felt the air shift behind me. Something was standing behind me, something big. And it wasn't Lucy. What do you want? I asked. My voice shaking.

I wanted to turn around, but I didn't. What if they were armed? The shadow was too blurry to make out well, but they were clearly way taller than I was. I probably didn't stand a chance. My hand slowly went into my pocket, feeling from my wallet, and my phone. I held both up behind me. Here, here, take him. Please, just don't hurt me.

I had no idea how he got in, I thought. Maybe pick the lock, but hopefully he would just take my stuff and go. But he didn't take them. Instead, I felt something, wet against my hand. A tongue. I yelped and jumped back. And it was just Lucy, just standing there.

Trying to pry the box of treats from my hand. I wheeled around. But the store was empty. Nobody was there. I looked down at the floor and the shadow was gone. Now there was no way he could have disappeared that fast, especially without making any sound. Hands still shaking. I fed Lucy some treats, and then I led her back to her crate.

I jerry-rigged it with zip ties, and then closed the door. I did a final loop around the store, but no one was there. Nothing was taken. Everything was right as it should be. So I locked up and I went home. When I got to the store the next morning, it was trashed. Bags of food were torn open, spilling out onto the floor. Toys were ripped off their racks. Even the animals seemed on edge. The store was filled with squawks and squeaks and barks. We thought there'd been a break-in. Until we found Lucy at the back of the store, just chilling out.

When I checked her room, I found the crate completely destroyed. The zip ties held, but the opposite side had been busted open. I stared at the mess of dented metal. It was hard to believe that an 80-pound dog had done so much damage. It was also hard to believe that a dog had turned the doorknob and opened the door. Our manager closed the store for the day. It took us nearly five hours to clean everything up. The damage was unbelievable.

An empty fish tank had been shattered, scattering shards of glass everywhere. More than ten bags of food had been ripped open. Even one of the lighting fixtures was smashed. After cleaning, I decided to watch the security footage because I refused to believe that Lucy could have done all this. Now, we only have one security camera. It's right at the entrance to the store. You can only see the edge of one aisle and a few of the fish tanks,

so I knew I wasn't going to get full footage of Lucy destroying the store or anything. I queued up the footage, and I hit play. Around 1.15 a.m., Lucy escaped. I heard the door bang open from somewhere off screen, and then I heard rustling sounds, in a loud thump. The one aisle in view of the camera shook as if a huge weight had run into it. I leaned into the screen, heart pounding. Our aisles are bolted into the floor.

There's no way a dog could shake an aisle like that. It'd probably take a 200-pound man at the very least, ramming his entire body into the thing. I watched as the aisle shook again. I heard this ripping sound as bags of food were being torn open off-screen. And then I saw a shadow, an enormous shadow stretching across the floor, just like I'd seen last night. bigger than Lucy. Bigger than me.

The aisle shook again. I swallowed. And then the shadow got bigger. They were coming closer to the camera, and I held my breath as I watched the edge of the screen, my heart pounding in my chest. And then I saw it just for a split second, but I saw it. a long, twisted, sinewy leg, enormous elongated claws, gray skin, not fur. And then it was gone.

I rewound the footage several times. But it was there, something that didn't look like a dog's paw or a human hand, or like anything I'd ever seen before. But it was the exact same gray color as Lucy's fur. I showed the footage to Andy and my manager, but they both had reasonably boring explanations. Andy thought someone had broken in somehow and was wearing a Halloween costume for kicks. She said it was getting to that time of the year. My manager on the other hand. and explained that the wide angle lens stretched out everything near the edges of the screen. So it was Lucy's paw just distorted by the camera.

I mean, their theories made more sense than mine, I guess. I'm not even sure what my theory was. But there were too many strange things that weren't adding up about Lucy. The next day, we reopened for business. I went into check on her and make sure the new cage was still holding up. We'd have to move her to another shelter soon. The room needed to be opened up for cat adoptions. Plus, with how the other dogs didn't tolerate her.

I mean, we didn't really have a choice. I was relieved. I didn't want to deal with her anymore. All I could think of when I looked at her was that horrible gray claw reaching out from the aisle. And I hated the way she just sat still like that. staring at me. When I looked into those blue eyes, it felt like I was making eye contact with something far more intelligent than a dog. Well, you're going to be out of here soon, I told her,

patting the top of the cage. You won't have to be here much longer. That's a good thing, right? She tilted her head slowly, as if she understood me, and you'll get adopted by next family. family, and you'll have a whole big house to run around and it'll be really good, I promise. I tapped the cage again, and then I left the room. She watched me intently until I closed the door. That night, it was just Andy and me closing up the store again. She was handling the snakes while I was cleaning up the grooming station. She insisted on staying with me until I was ready to go, in case the same.

the kid in the Halloween costume came back. I just wanted this whole thing to be over with. I wanted Lucy gone. And five minutes before we officially closed, I heard the bells jingle at the front of the store. Andy and I exchanged a look, and then I walked towards the front of the store. Hey, we're closing in five minutes. I called out as I approached. The last thing I needed was some guy who'd spend a half hour,

choosing dog treats. I rounded the corner, and there he was. He was tall and very skinny, with curly blonde hair, looked like he was a few years older than me. He glanced at me, then passed me further into the store. I immediately did not like this guy. There was something about him and about the way he was glancing around. It made me uneasy.

I swallowed, thinking about last night. Yeah, can I help you? I asked in my most confident voice. He paused. The silence stretched out for several seconds, and then he finally spoke. I'm looking for dog food. Oh, all right, what type of dog food? We got canned, dry. Anything's good. He replied. And that struck me as odd. Usually people know exactly what dog food they want.

They'll have the brand, flavor, and size figured out. If this guy was good with any dog food, why didn't he just go to the West Market across the street? No need to come to our pet store, especially because our stuff is usually marked up a bit. I walked down the aisle, leading him to the dog food section. All right, here you go, lots of choices, I said. And he barely looked at them, just grabbed one off the shelf and headed towards the cash register. What a weird guy, I thought. But as I headed towards the register, I heard it.

A low growl broke the silence. I whipped around and realized it wasn't coming from the dog room. It was coming from Lucy's room. In the week she'd been here, I had never heard her growl. And I turned back towards the man. He was staring at Lucy's door. But as soon as he saw me looking, his eyes snapped back up to me. Yeah, can you hurry it up?

He asked, irritated. I grabbed a bag of food, scanned it, and I slid it across the counter. But when I looked up, I was face to face with a gun. Open the register. Empty everything into the bag, he said. My hands began to shake. I opened the register and I grabbed the cash. There wasn't much, but I put it into the bag.

My eyes never left the gun, pointed straight at my head. In my peripheral vision, I looked for any. But she must have still been in the back. I couldn't see her anywhere. My finger slipped over the money. My heart was pounding in my chest while staring down the barrel of the gun. And then I heard it. A loud metallic sound coming from Lucy's room.

The man's eyes flicked over to the door. Is someone back there? He asked, and I shook my head. If you're playing some kind of game with me, a loud bang interrupted him. And the door flew open. I whipped around and all the blood drained out of my face. An enormous shape came into view. Gray, sickly legs, long, thin, dozens of them, ending in huge claws.

Its head was wolf-like, but when it opened its mouth, its rows of razor-sharp teeth, they looked more like a shark's, and its eyes. There were dozens of them, slitted an inky black. And they all focused on the man with the gun. He turned, white as a sheet. And then he turned around and ran out of the store as fast as his legs, take him. Had backed away from the counter. This thing towered above me. Its head rushing the ceiling. Its dozens of legs moved like a spider crawling across the floor, heading towards its prey. I could hear

Andy screaming now somewhere behind me. But I couldn't turn away from this thing. This is it, I thought, this is how I die. I closed my eyes. And then I felt a tongue licking my hand. My eyes shot open. And there was Lucy. Dog, Lucy, standing in front of me, licking my hand. I wheeled around.

Andy was frantically calling the police. She was freaking out and crying. I was numb, my legs very weak. Lucy? I said. And she just stared back at me with those bright blue eyes. Andy and I told our manager about Lucy. She didn't believe us.

Neither did the police. They did catch the guy who attempted the robbery, though. And he confessed to everything. I cleaned out Lucy's room the next day. We needed the room for cats. Besides, she couldn't stay here. She'd continue to wreck the store and scare the other animals and do who knows what else. So I adopted her.

And Lucy and I, we've had a great time so far. She's been enjoying long walks, hanging around my apartment, and eating dinner scraps. I'm even trying to teach her how to play fetch. No luck yet, but we'll see. Though sometimes, she does remind me that she's more than a dog. Every so often, I'd hear howling in the woods near my apartment. Before Lucy, I'd never heard any wolves there. She would howl back?

And that's usually enough to stop it. But sometimes, the howling would continue. And it'll start getting closer. When that happens, Lucy would be out the door as soon as I turned my back. By evening, she'd return covered in mud and a sticky black goo. I'd clean her up and give her a nice big dinner before she settles down in her bed. I've stopped wondering about what Lucy gets up to when she leaves, and I don't try to think about what that black goo is.

Or about the time she brought home a gray dismembered leg, similar to what I saw on camera all those months ago. It was gone by morning. I think eventually. She will return to the woods. It is her home, after all. But for now, she seems happy enough sitting on the sofa with me, watching TV and getting headpats.

And I don't mind the extra security. If anyone or anything tries to get in, they will get the fight of their lives.