Idaho bear hound’s owners blame wolf for dog’s death

An Idaho couple blames wolves for killing a dog they used to hunt bears, though state Department of Fish and Game officials haven’t confirmed the claim.

Brent and Connie Ottosen, who live 20 miles south of Coeur d’Alene, believe a pack mauled and ate their 4-year-old hound, Blackjack, along the Coeur d’Alene River last week.

The Ottosens say they were hunting near U.S. Interstate 90 with seven of their dogs when six began trailing a bear. Blackjack ran after another scent.

When they found the dog a day later, about two-thirds of its body had been eaten.

Brent Ottosen now says his family may move elsewhere, claiming hunting bears has become too difficult and dangerous with wolves moving in.

“All three of our kids bawled,” he told the Coeur d’Alene Press. “I don’t know if that counts for something. But it should.”

Wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming remain a federally protected species after their reintroduction to the region more than a decade ago. A U.S. District Court judge in July blocked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from proceeding with a plan to lift Endangered Species Act protections pending resolution of a lawsuit by environmentalists.

Ottosen said he suspects wolves were behind the attack because of the way Blackjack was eaten.

“What canines do is eat through the rib bones. A lion or bear would go for a heart or liver,” he said. “A typical wolf would eat about 20 pounds. There was never enough time for a mountain lion to eat that much.”

While wolves have killed dogs around nearby North Idaho communities including Calder, Mullan and Avery, state Fish and Game officials declined to confirm they were behind Blackjack’s death, saying it was only a possibility.

“The only thing we know is something killed his dog and ate it,” said Jim Hayden, Fish and Game Panhandle wildlife manager. “I don’t have a problem saying it could be a wolf. I do have a problem saying a wolf killed that animal.”