I say it is a hybrid of some sort. We had a Liger running around SE Michigan a while back, so it isn’t unheard of. (A liger is a Lion-Tiger combo. This critter looks like some african-dog type thingee.
Has anyone considered the possibility that this is a photoshop job?
Look at the angle of the large shadow in back, and then look at the front right leg. It has a light shadow in a completely opposite direction from all other shadows – the front side of the leg and not the back. Looking at only the blue channel in Photoshop, the ovular area below the ass and under the tail also looks suspect.
Or maybe he has two different flashes on his security system.
As I said before, it is a damn funny-looking dog until shown to be otherwise. Not even so funny-looking as some of the breeds out there.
Get some more photos, in different postures and lighting conditions, a film record, or a specimen in hand and I will be willing to change my opinion.
Apparently, a whole lot of other people are interested in the Mystery Beast.
http://www.news-record.com/news/local/rand/creature_061004_hp.htm