Native American legends

To replace the dogs in the story I decided to look at native American spirits and monsters. this links in well with my 1930's theme as young people started to become interested in their culture and beliefs. the first creature I looked at was a chupacabras:

Appearance

The most common description of chupacabras is a reptile-like creature, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-grey skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo. In at least one sighting, the creature was reported to hop 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or panther-like nose and face, a forked tongue, and large fangs. It is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave behind a sylphic stench. When it screeches, some reports assert that the chupacabras' eyes glow an unusual red which gives the witnesses nausea.

Another description of chupacabras, although not as common, describes a strange breed of wild dog. This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. It is claimed that this breed might be an example of a dog-like reptile. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabra is said to drain all of the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) usually through three holes in the shape of an upside-down triangle or through one or two holes.

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra>

But decided after looking at some reference pictures that the chupacabra looked similar to a dog so I looked a bit more deeper into the history and myths to find more unusual and stranger creatures. this included looking at the great spirit the creator of the world, a man who turned into a sea serpent, a kachina and a dwarf-like creature. 
in the end i chose upon the first creature being a dwarf creature, the second a Gonaquadet and the last the great spirit. this works well in my story as the myths said that any of these creature would accept food, tobacco or sacrifices in exchange to be blessed and protected.