As Wolves Attack Dog, Black Creek Residents Raise Concerns
Editor’s Note: This morning Black Creek resident Samantha Garstang is here to address the community about a recent attack that left her dog clinging to life and to raise awareness about the growing wolf population in the region. Her story follows.
I am writing to let you know about an incident that happened on Thursday night near Hamm Road in Black Creek. Our dog (border collie x jack russell) was attacked in or near our yard by a predatory canine (wolf), somehow got away, and came home. I did not even realize there were wolves in this area and I would like to get the word out to other residents who need to keep a close eye on their children, pets, and livestock.
The incident happened at about 6:45p.m. when our dog was out for a pee. He suffered extensive wounds that, according to conservation officer Gord Gudbranson and the VanIsle Veterinary staff, match the pattern of a predatory canine.
His tail was removed, and he had extensive puncture and lacerations to his back legs and belly. His knee capsule was punctured and a ligament blown. His front knee was also bitten badly. Nako really had to fight for his life and somehow he made it home to us, and made it through 3 hours of surgery. He is still in the Veterinary hospital and we are facing very large vet bills. We have set up a fund if people are in a position to donate, we would be so grateful! http://nako.chipin.com/nako-lives.
I hope you can help get the word out so that others do not face this same trauma. Nako is doing much better today, he is off the IV morphine drip and was up and about last evening when we went in to help with his wound care.
The staff have been amazing. It is always hard to tell with injuries when they come in how bad things will be, especially in emergency cases, and we may have made different decisions had the doctor not been so positive about his outcome. He is not quite 8 months old, with a beautiful and strong spirit that has swiftly carried him through this tragedy with a will to come home to his family. We love Nako, and really wanted to give him a fighting chance. We recently lost our big old dog Cowboy (13 years old), and losing our new puppy just 4 months after we got him was unthinkable…
Thank you for your support.
Samantha Garstang
Category: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
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These wolves have always lived on the island, the only reason they come into town at all is because of all the deer that live in the populated areas. I recomend keeping your pets in fenced in areas and supervising children when playing too close to open woods, wolves don’t naturally go after humans but they do feel threatened really easily and consider dogs as threats. Chasing deer out of your vicinity and deer-proofing your garded will do wonders as well.