I've been trying to figure out the title/author of this story. I read it when I was a kid. I think the title was something like "It" (not the Stephen King story) but it could have been "The Thing," or something vague like that. It involved this rural farm family and some creature that lived in the woods near their home. The climax involved them hunting for it with a gun and a dog, and I think there was a small child involved, too. I know this is not much to go on, but it is driving me crazy!!