Right so this is the kind of thing that gets me. The dog is the detail that stands out most, because animals don't do the "refuse to move until daylight" thing over a fox or a bird. They bark, they investigate, they're annoying about it. But flat out refusing to go outside until morning? That's a completely different response and I've read enough accounts from people around here in Somerset to know that's not nothing.
What did the footsteps actually sound like? I'm curious whether it was rhythmic like something walking deliberately, or more erratic and scrabbling. The distinction matters a lot when people start piecing together what it might have been.
And did you notice anything else - any lights, any strange smell, did the air feel different? I know that sounds a bit mad but those details keep cropping up in the accounts I've been looking into. Would love to hear more from you on this one, proper intrigued.