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El Perro Del Diablo

Downtown El Paso Texas looks mean. Hanging on to the edge of America, the city's economy can't compete with the desperation that oozes across the Mexican border. Pawn shops litter the main drag, competing for space with a plethora of cheap shoe stores and bus lines that promise to take you to Miami for $50 bucks. The area is crowded with Hispanic faces that all seem hardened to the reality they're walking through. Even the children, holding on to their mother's sweaty hands, look at you with flint eyed stares, daring you to smile at them. The sidewalks are crowded with people that weave around each other, all walking to and from the main bridge that separates El Paso from Juarez, Mexico.

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The American checkpoint at the border.

But these people are the lucky ones, they made it past the polite interrogation of the customs officials legally. They have every right to be walking on these American streets. They look at you with guiltless stares, knowing they have done nothing wrong. It's a different story at the El Paso County Jail. Here in a small room over 50 illegal aliens are waiting the few hours it takes to do their paperwork before they are put on a bus and shipped back over the border. They tried to get into the US the hard way and got caught.

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The view of the El Paso River canal from the Mexican-American bridge.

The men pass the time by wolfing down the jail bologna sandwiches or smoking cigarettes. They seem jovial about their situation, many of them having been caught more than a dozen times. It's only when you look them in the eyes that you catch a hint of anxiety. They may call their nightly transgression across the border "el juego" (the game) but for some of them it's more than that, it's a way of life. And lately, they say, the game has turned more serious. Many of them claim that the United States Border Patrol have started guarding the fences that separate the countries with something new and dangerous. One prisoner who only gives his name as "Alonzo" agrees to tell me what he saw in exchange for a pack of cigarettes.

elperro_sign.jpg "You want to know about the hell dog?" asks Alonzo. "Yes, I have seen it. I saw it 3 nights ago when I was leading a group across the fence just east of Juarez. That is a favorite spot of mine to go over since it isn't patrolled that much. We had just crossed the river and I was cutting the fence when I heard a howl. At first I thought it was a coyote, but when it howled again I knew it wasn't. The sound coming from that animal's throat cut into my soul."

"The group crowded around me at the fence and it got very hard for me to use the clippers. I swore at them and pushed them back but just then the dog howled again and they grew scared. One man grabbed the shears from my hands to use as a weapon and another fool turned on a flashlight he had been carrying. I cursed at them again for being idiots and went to knock the flashlight out of the man's hands. But just as I did, I looked out to the edge of the light and saw the red glowing eyes and heard the growl. It was no ordinary animal."

"At that point me and some other men began climbing the fence. Some of the women were grasping at us but we were so scared we didn't stop to help them. When the dog howled again most of them turned back and went into the river, back to the Mexican side. Myself and three other men made it over the fence but minutes later we were caught. The border guards must have heard the animal but they just laughed at me when I asked them what it was."

Several other men have crowded around Alonzo, listening to his story and they are quick to confirm the existence of the dogs. One man who refused to give his name claims to have seen two of them during the light of day.

"Yes, they are dogs, but much bigger than dogs should be," he told me. "They stand nearly to a man's chest and don't act like dog should. The two I saw were patrolling between the fences in the El Paso River canal and stood still for almost 10 minutes staring at me. Around their necks were huge black collars and a small radio antenna protruded from it, up into the air. The US government have used their laboratories to create these dogs. They are not all animal!"

When I told one officer of the US Border Patrol about these accusations he was quick to laugh them away.

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Officer Rick Spillam of the US Border Patrol says no devil dogs exist.

"If these guys think we're using some kind of Superdog to catch them they are out of their minds," said Officer Rick Spillam. "Do you think we have the kind of budget that lets us use something like that? Nevermind the fact that the government would never let us do it. We do use dogs in our operations but they are your normal, garden variety, animals. We use them to sniff for contraband and we have several that ride with officers on patrol but they aren't any kind of superbeast. It sounds like the smugglers are making up excuses for getting caught so they have something else to blame besides themselves."

But the claims of the devil dog have been taken seriously by the Juarez newspaper, "La Voz Libre." Reporter Anton Rodriquez has recorded over 20 sightings of the dog and recently published an article titled, "El Perro del Diablo" (The Devil Dog)

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Reporter Anton Rodriquez believes genetically modified dogs roam the border.

"I do believe that there are too many reports of this animal to be made up," says Rodriquez. "Many different people have seen the animal; smugglers, farm workers, and even a priest. They all give the same story. They say that the dog or dogs are black in color, are of an abnormal size, and seem much more intelligent than a regular dog. Several people who have seen them close report that they wear large collars around their necks which have a short, stubby antenna. They are all seen in between the Mexican and American fence system, running free and without supervision. Many times American border patrol agents will arrive in the area minutes after the dogs are sighted. Although I have spoken with no one who has been attacked, the sight of the dogs causes a severe panic, and some people have been hurt in their efforts to get away from the beasts."

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Image of the Border Devil Dog drawn for the 'La Voz Libre' newspaper article.

Rodriquez even has a theory on what is behind the dog's appearance.

"There has recently been a desire by the state of Texas to tighten their border with my country and I think that the dogs are a new way for the American police to patrol the border. The size and nature of the dogs seem to indicate that they are under some kind of human guidance even though there is not a human nearby. This makes me think that the antenna that is seen may be a way for a human controller to guide the animals without direct contact. It's well known that Americans are on the forefront of genetic research. Possibly the dogs have been genetically bred to receive some sort of computer implant which makes them able to understand commands received by radio signal. The possibility exists and has not been disproved."

Are the devil dogs real? Until further proof is brought forward it's hard to say. The influx of illegal immigrants has been a hot topic with the state of Texas in recent years and steps have been taken to tighten the security that exists between the two countries. One border patrol guard who didn't wish to be named summed it up this way. "It doesn't matter if we have the dogs or not. All that matters is that they think we have them."

sources

Interviews with El Paso County Jail prisoners, July 25th, 2000

Phone interview with Anton Rodriquez July 27th, 2000

La Voz Libre, Juarez Mexico newspaper June 20th, 2000

All Photos by Derek Barnes



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