Mule Deer Fanatic

Wolfpack kills hunting dogs near Avery!

AVERY, IDAHO — Two hunting dogs are dead and another is seriously
injured after being attacked by a pack of wolves near of Avery, Idaho east
of St. Maries that has one North Idaho man saying the state is to
blame.

With 30 staples across her small head, and 12 feet of sutures weaved throughout her fragile body, Lilly – a 2 1/2 year old Plott hound dog is slowly recovering.

That’s a tooth hole of a wolf right there. Those holes back there are teeth marks, dog owner Jamie Parker said.

Lilly along with Parker’s two other dogs George and Ginger was attacked by a pack of wolves on Sunday. George and Ginger didn’t make it to the Silver Valley Vet Clinic like Lilly did; they both died shortly after the attack.

I don’t know how to describe it, Parker said. It tore my heart
out. Wouldn’t compare it to losing a child, but it’s got to be closet
thing to it.

Parker and some friends were hunting a mountain lion just a mile or so
from Avery when the dogs stopped barking and they knew something was
wrong. The hunters climbed up a mountain and when they got there they
found blood everywhere and a pack of wolves running toward them.

The men fired several shots and the wolves ran away.

Idaho re-introduced 35 gray wolves to the state in 1995 after near
extinction and now there are 651 wolves and 71 wolf packs statewide.

I’m frustrated by the people that have shoved these wolves down our
throat, Parker said.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department says it understands parker’s frustrations, however there isn’t much it can do until the gray wolf is taken off the endangered species list.

The federal government tried once in 2002 and another effort is now underway.

If and when the wolf is off the list, Parker and others would be able
to hunt gray wolves and shoot one if its attacking a family pet.

Parker says the push to de-list should’ve happened a long time ago.
Even so, he remains hopeful as he prepares to take Lilly home on Thursday.

I feel good and I’m pretty sure she’s going to pull out of this and
she’ll hunt again someday, he said.

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