Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Wolf Update

Family dog dies after wolf attack

Posted 1 hour ago

The Parcey family's dog took her last breath on Friday.

Missy, a collie-shepherd cross, died at the Timmins Animal Hospital after being attacked by a pack of wolves last week.

"It's tough. It's very tough," Monica Parcey said. "It's a tragic end. At least she died with us and not with the wolves. I will miss her. We always felt safe with her."

Seeing wolves or wolf tracks in and around the Jaguar Road area is nothing new for the family. However, with multiple reported wolf attacks happening to family dogs, the Parcey family worries that the problem will only escalate.

"It's not going to go away unless we do something about it. Her brother was lost to wolves but I didn't witness it. This instance I witnessed it so that's why it's so traumatizing," she said.

Parcey has been diligently researching online about wolf attacks and said that incidents do occur in the early morning between 6:30 and 10 a. m.

"There are kids waiting for school buses at that time," she warned. "You can't keep turning a blind eye. It's not a lone wolf, it's not two or three."

Last Monday, Parcey said she saw at least 10 wolves. The pack dragged their 85-pound dog into a field, ripping her skin and exposing her ribs.

"It's very scarring," she explained.

On Friday night, Parcey went to visit Missy at the animal hospital. She was breathing heavily and was medicated to help reduce the pain. There was severe damage to her neck and there was swelling and bruising throughout her body. Missy also needed stitches from head to toe.

"I had a talk with Missy and told her she needed to make up her mind. I said, 'Missy girl, if you need to let go, it's OK by me.' She died that night," Parcey said. "Maybe it's time for people who have suffered losses to come forward so we can see the true numbers."

Parcey said the Ministry of Natural Resources suggested they call a trapper.

"The trappers were told to get their snares out of the bush because it's the end of the trapping season for wolves," she said. "Can we reinstate a bounty on these things? They are getting too close and confident."

Parcey said every time it snows there are a fresh set of wolf tracks.

"They are large timber wolves and they are very menacing. When I go to my truck, I check over my shoulder because you just don't know," she said.

Similar problems with wolves are also happening in the greater Sudbury area.

The Sudbury Star reported on April 10, Diane Korpela, owner of Pineridge Ranch, recently lost five deer from her petting zoo to a pack of wolves. Korpela said the buildup of snow allowed the wolves to walk over a fence, leaving her animals at their mercy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know this might not be politically correct..but who says one animal should live before another.. I feel so sorry for the family that lost this dog..my heart goes out to them..if it were my dog .. I too would be heartbroken .. but trapping the wolves.. do you know how painful that is to an animal? It has been a long and hard winter for many animals ..it's survival .. as hard as it is to take ..it is nature ..it is the cycle of life...anyway ..that's my take as unpopular it may be.. surely it is sad ...and maybe I would have a whole different take if I had experienced what they did .. I just had to say it .. Cher

Anonymous said...

everybody probably hates me now .. cher

Ma Horton said...

Dont be silly ..my take is this : It is a known fact there have been wolves seen on that road ..why arent people building safer housing for their pets or bringing them inside where they are protected at night. On MNR rep theorizes that this is a pack of feral dogs and not wolves ..

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update... the poor dog, at least it is not suffering anymore. My heart goes out to the family that will miss this dog forever... thanks Ma for keeping us in the loop!