Dogs harrass area elk :(

[luvofallhorses]

The owners should be responsible for this, letting their dogs run either that or the dogs got loose

Dogs harass area elk


By the Standard Staff - 02/23/2005



In the wake of reports that a dog pack killed a prize foal south of Butte comes a second complaint about dogs causing troubles west of town.
Four dogs reportedly traumatized a herd of about 250 elk outside Durant Canyon last week. They also injured a rancher's cow.

Tony Schoonen of Ramsay watched them through a spotting scope from his home.

"When they're in a real tight knot you know darn well there's something chasing them," Schoonen said. "That was really criminal the way those dogs were running those poor elk around. They'll be calving in about two months." Schoonen said the dogs kept at it for at least two and a half hours on Thursday morning. He and three others filed witness complaints with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

"I thought they were wolves at first," Schoonen said, later adding, "I never did see if they ever got one. I was a little bit too far way." He said he's never seen anything like that before and hopes to never again. "That herd is a public resource and we've got to protect it." Jack Erickson, who has a ranch near Silver Bow, said the dogs were back at it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, too, and they also bothered his cows.

"They crippled a cow, these same bunch of dogs," Erickson said. "At the price of beef right now a cow's worth $1,000. I might not get $400 for her." The injured cow is bred, and he's hoping her calf will be all right.

"The next time it happens, I'm going to just shoot the dog," Erickson said. "That's what we have to do." FWP game warden Regan Dean said the department is investigating.

"We're still trying to figure out who the dogs belong to," Dean said, adding that once they find out, the owners could face either a warning or a fine.



— Roberta Forsell Stauffer, The Montana Standard
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hopefully the cow will be alright and able to have her baby and they find the owner of the dogs, poor elk and cow

[Pit Chick]

Originally posted by luvofallhorses
"That was really criminal the way those dogs were running those poor elk around. They'll be calving in about two months." Schoonen said the dogs kept at it for at least two and a half hours on Thursday morning.

CRIMINAL?? These are dogs we're talking about, not some juvenile group of teenagers. He watched as the dogs chased the elk for two hours and he didn't do anything to try and chase them away. Hello, can we say stupid? The owners of the dogs need to be shot, not the dogs.

[luvofallhorses]

I agree with you there, Pit Chick. I read it in the newspaper and I was like "criminal isn't the right word for this"

[animal_rescue]

Ditto to Pit Chick, the dogs don't need to shot! Being trapped and sent to the pound is better than that!

[cali]

ok anyone who sits there for 2 hours watching dogs chase his elk and does nothing has NO right to complain!

[pitc9]

Originally posted by cali
ok anyone who sits there for 2 hours watching dogs chase his elk and does nothing has NO right to complain!

AMEN SISTER!!!!!!!!!!

[Denyce]

Ok I have to speak up here. Using caution when a group of dogs is running in a pack like that is not stupid or cowardly. Could he have done something to stop the dogs...possibly but we weren't there and we don't really know the situation. I wouldn't confront a pack of dogs like that running loose. They have a whole different mentality and are more dangerous than a pack of wolves because they have no fear of humans.

I wouldn't call the dogs criminal..I would call the owner(s)or former owner(s) of these dogs criminal. And as far as the dogs being shot. ..*shrug* It is not only within the legal rights of the game commission or the ranchers it is sometimes the safest thing to do for the community. These dogs can and probably already have become rogue and in a pack with no fear of humans makes them extremely dangerous. They could attack a child out in a yard somewhere. They could attack other dogs and cats. They have already crippled a cow. It would be nice of they could be tranquilized and then evaluated however I believe the safety of the community is the most important thing here.

It is a shame that people are not more responsible and allow their dogs to run loose. It isn't the dogs fault..they are just being dogs.

Denyce

[Jods]

Denyce,
I completly agree with you 100%