never thought i'd see this thread but here we are lol
genuinely never been to the Ozarks but we've got similar reports around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire - big black cats spotted near farmland, occasionally near old woodland. they get called "phantom cats" over here and nobody really takes it seriously until you see one. a mate of mine swears he saw something massive crouched by a hedgerow near Sherwood Forest a few years back and he's not the type to make stuff up.
the German Shepherd comparison is interesting because thats roughly the size people describe over here too, not like a house cat gone chunky but properly large predator sized. makes you wonder if theres some overlap in what people are actually encountering or if its just a case of our brains pattern matching to the nearest "big scary cat" template
has anyone managed to get footage or even decent photos near the Ozarks? would love to compare it to some of the UK sightings