C-Falls dog survives wolf attack

It’s not unusual for Rod and Suzy Cogliati’s dog, Shem, to bark when he goes outside. The couple lives in a log cabin in the woods north of Columbia Falls, and their yard has frequent furry visitors — everything from moose to bear to deer wander through from time to time.

But on the morning of Feb. 21, Shem’s barks took a different tone — panicked and then yelps. It was snowing hard and Rod couldn’t see his dog. All he could see in the dim porch light was the form of a big gray bushy-tailed animal on top of Shem.

Without thinking, Rod ran outside wearing just a T-shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of Teva sandals, yelling at the wolf to get off his dog. He didn’t have a gun, not even a stick.

“The wolf left as soon as he saw me coming after him,” Cogliati said last week.

Shem, a big white English lab, did a lap around the house. The dog was bleeding from more than 20 bite barks, including punctures to his neck, back, head and ears. But he also was very happy that wolf was no longer trying to chew on him.

“I figured Shem had about five seconds left,” Cogliati said.

Shem required a trip to the veterinarian, where he was treated for his wounds but didn’t require stitches.

Meanwhile, the Cogliatis covered the prints from the wolf with a garbage can so the snow wouldn’t cover them and called Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Game warden Chris Crane investigated the incident, as did Flathead County Animal Control.

Based on the tracks and howling heard in the neighborhood later on, Crane said it was likely a wolf.

FWP wolf biologist Kent Laudon has said in the past that wolves generally attack dogs not to eat them but because of territorial instinct.

Crane said if a wolf is attacking livestock or pets, or is threatening to do so, they can be legally killed, but a person must report the death of the wolf.

Last summer, a pack of wolves that denned in Glacier National Park attacked pets in the Blankenship area.

Rod said he has no ill will toward wolves.

“I’m not against them,” he said. “Just leave my dog alone. It makes me more cautious.”

Shem, meanwhile, is as happy as ever. His wounds have all but healed over.

“He’s doing great,” Rod said.

The wolves are still in the area. Last week, Rod said he could hear them howling as well as the sounds of an elk in distress. He thinks they may have killed an elk north of his house near the high voltage power lines.

Meanwhile in Kalispell, students reported seeing a wolf run across the middle school football field on Feb. 25. FWP officials confirmed it was a wolf with a radio collar after viewing dash-cam footage.

Near Whitefish, a wolf was struck and killed on March 6 by a vehicle on U.S. 93 near Spencer Lake. FWP spokesperson John Fraley said it was a large, older wolf and was in an area frequented by wildlife crossing the highway.

And in Ferndale, a man shot and killed a wolf on March 7 around 4 a.m. that was attacking his livestock. The wolf turned out to belong to a woman and had escaped from its kennel about five miles away.