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Wolf Incident Leaves Couple Worried

 

Ironwood Globe News Editor

 

By RALPH ANSAMI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Documentary

Undue Burden

The Real Cost Of Living With Wolves

 

MATCHWOOD, MI - After their dog was killed and eaten by a wolf in a brazen attack under their front porch, John and Sandra Smith are worried about family members.

 

The Matchwood couple Tuesday discussed the Aug. 14 attack on the family pet that occurred at their trailer home and added fuel to the anti-wolf fire that has been growing in the Ontonagon area.

 

"I don't trust wolves," Smith said. "We have a grandson, 11, who lives down the road and walks to the school bus in the dark in the morning."

 

"We're afraid for him," his wife said.

 

They said they've seen many other wolves in the Matchwood-Topaz area, although there have been no reports of wolves attacking people anywhere in the Upper Peninsula.

 

After an autopsy in Crystal Falls, Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Douglas Wagner confirmed the wolf not only ate the family's dog, Chewy, a German Shepherd-beagle mix, but also had the contents of a calf in its stomach.

 

The Smiths' daughter, Lorie Fooce, peeked under the porch to look for Chewy that fateful Sunday and was greeted by a snarling wolf. "She saw the wolf lying on the dog," Sandra Smith said.

 

Smith said a neighbor who farms, John Koski, who was profiled a few years ago in a Daily Globe story, continues to have problems with wolves. It may have been one of Koski's calves that had been eaten.

 

Smith said the gray wolf, which was wearing a radio collar, appeared to be suffering from mange.

 

The whole experience has angered Smith to the extent that he'd like to set up a meeting with the DNR and victims of the wolf situation. He cites an incident in the Lake Gogebic area where a young girl found what remained of a pet dog -- just the animal's head.

 

The Smiths are not pleased at law enforcement's response time.

 

"We called the (Ontonagon County) sheriff's department at 9 a.m., but
nobody showed up. At about 11, they told us the area game warden was at the Gogebic County Fair. The DNR biologist showed up at about 12:30 p.m. with a stick," Smith said.

 

"He told us, 'Maybe it will run away and leave its kill."

 

The wolf, which was wearing a tracking collar, was finally tranquilized around 3:30 p.m. and was later euthanized.

 

A state police officer eventually showed up, but no deputy arrived, Smith said.

 

Although it's tough to put a price on a family pet, the Smiths are upset they won't be reimbursed for Chewy and the fact that the skirting around the trailer was torn off and hasn't been replaced.

You can't put a price on the loss of a pet," Sandra Smith said, although she believes there should be some sort of compensation.

 

The state won't reimburse us, but they're there to defend the wolves," said Smith, who believes the gray wolf population in the U.P. is vastly underestimated at around 350. "They want tourists to come see our beautiful wolves but don't think about the rest of us," he said. He added he's contacted State Rep. Rich Brown, D-Bessemer, aboutthe incident.

 

Sandra Smith said the incident could have been much worse because Chewy knew how to open the door to the house with his paws and the wolf could have chased the dog into the home.

 

Smith said he has the tragedy recorded on a video camera. He had his grandson operate the camera, although the boy started crying when his grandfather told him to focus it on the partially-eaten family pet. "He couldn't do it," he said.

 

The couple still has Chihuahuas. "I won't let them out of the house much now," Sandra Smith said.

 

A Marquette television station requested the video, but Smith declined to send it there.

 

Wagner was off from work Tuesday. Co-workers said he won't return to the office until Friday. A fellow DNR wildlife biologist at Crystal Falls, Monica Joseph, said the MDNR doesn't reimburse pet owners for losses, but it does compensate people who lose livestock.

 

Wisconsin pays up to $2,500 for dogs killed by wolves. It also pays for losses of other animals.

 

Joseph, who saw the wolf, said although it was an adult, it wasn't

 unusually large. Regarding the damaged skirting, she said the DNR doesn't usually pay property damage claims regarding wildlife damage. She said she wasn't at the scene and doesn't know exactly what happened.

 

The attack so close to an inhabited house was unusual, Joseph acknowledged.

 

Smith believes other similar wolf incidents may occur. "They're all around us," he said.

 

 

 

 Documentary

Undue Burden

The Real Cost Of Living With Wolves

 

 

 

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