Dog in Northwoods attacked by wolf
Heather Sawaski
Eagle River – MyFox Wausau – Her name is Honey. She’s a 6 year old Golden Retriever. She loves to run and play, and if it weren’t for a few visible scratches and stitches, you wouldn’t even know this playful pup was just in a fight for her life.
“She had one canine puncture that went in by her eye and went down to her nasal cavity,” explained her owner Cory Arp. “She also had a small gash on her foot. ”
Cory says his best friend’s chest was ripped open when she was attacked by a wolf. It happened last Wednesday. Cory was at work at the time, but his two little brothers were getting off the school bus. One heard a yelp. It was over in a matter of minutes.
“He came and found her all torn up against the fence and bloody,” he explained. “Then they went to the hospital got her all stitched up and had to go into emergency surgery.”
Residents say this is the second suspected wolf attack on a dog on Highway G in the last 6 months. Now neighbors are on edge.”
“As a citizen and a resident here I’m concerned about it,” a neighbor commented. “I had a neighbor who had an animal attacked. I have pets and I have children. It’s only a matter of time before it’s a human being. What’s it going to take?”
According to the DNR, it’s going to take a change in federal law. A Northwoods Wildlife Biologist tells Newsline 9 there are currently more than 700 wolves roaming the state. And because they’re still considered endangered species, their hands are tied. There’s nothing they can do.
Unfortunately for Cory, Honey, and the rest of this Eagle River neighborhood, all they can do is keep on their toes.
“We’re walking the kids out to the bus stop, everywhere they go out in the yard,” Cory said. “They’re pretty scared right now. Some people aren’t letting their dogs out anymore. It’s just unfortunate that it has to be like this.”
Honey’s family is now stuck with a $1,000 vet bill. The DNR typically pays for the bills of animals attacked by wolves, but says in this case, there were no witnesses to the attack.
Also, the DNR biologist says the state is involved in a petition at the federal level to de-list wolves from the endangered list. No word on when a decision will be made.