July 22–Chisholm was born and trained to guard livestock against predators.
But last week, while on a jaunt into the mountains north of Emmett, the 200-pound Great Pyrenees was brought down by at least one wolf.
A federal Wildlife Services trapper confirmed the wolf kill based on tracks and damage to the dog’s body. Efforts to trap and kill the wolf are underway.
But it will be a long time before Tom Blessinger shakes the pain of Chisholm’s loss.
The massive dog’s toughness and instincts made him fine protection against predators, the Emmett-area rancher said. But his main role was as a pet and treasured companion.
“He was my buddy,” Blessinger said of the dog he adopted nine years ago as a 6-month-old pup. “He loved to come along in the pickup or ride on the ATV.”
“He was a gentle giant,” Blessinger added. “I called him my chick magnet: Anytime we’d stop at a drive-in or store, we’d be surrounded by women.”
WHAT HAPPENED
On July 14, Blessinger was in the high country near Sage Hen Reservoir to show Forest Service staff what he and other ranchers who graze cattle in the forest planned to do to improve water tanks in the area.
They were on ATVs, and Chisholm was on foot behind them. “He was normally 100 or 200 feet behind, sniffing around at anything interesting,” Blessinger said.
But this time, the dog didn’t catch up. And he didn’t show up in camp, a route he knew well and took often. Blessinger searched for his dog to no avail.
The next day, area residents and campers at Sage Hen joined the search for the big, white dog. On Wednesday, someone found Chisholm’s ravaged remains about 20 feet off Sage Hen Road and a half-mile from the Sage Hen campground, Blessinger said.
He called Wildlife Services trapper Greg Jones, who met him at the site Thursday morning and confirmed his wolf suspicions.
‘CONTROL ACTIONS’
Wolf traps were set that same day, said Todd Grimm, state director for Wildlife Services. As of late Monday afternoon, he said, no wolf had been reported captured.
Wildlife Services kills wolves at the direction of Idaho Fish and Game, which generally seeks a “control action” when it’s been proved that a wolf has killed livestock or domestic animals, said Jennifer Struthers, wolf biologist for Fish and Game.
In most cases — 27 of 29 so far this year across Idaho — that action is trapping and killing the wolf, Grimm said. In the other two Idaho cases this year, one wolf was shot from the ground and one was shot from a helicopter, he said.
Nearly half of those 2014 reports of wolf depredation came from two parts of Idaho: near Idaho City and near Donnelly, Grimm said.
Only one other report came from the general area where Chisholm died, Grimm said. In that case, he said, a calf was killed by more than one wolf. It’s possible that a wolf involved in that incident also killed Chisholm, but there’s really no way to know, said both Grimm and Struthers.
“We don’t have a documented pack there right now, but we do know we have a few wolves in the area,” Struthers said. To qualify as a pack, a group of wolves must include at least four adults or include puppies, she said.
Blessinger said the cattle he and other members of the Ola “C” Grazing Association keep near Sage Hen have not been bothered by wolves.
Reports indicate Chisholm was killed by one or two wolves, Struthers said. Grimm said it was most likely one wolf. Blessinger thinks it would have taken at least two to bring Chisholm down.
The circumstances of Chisholm’s death sparked fear throughout the Sage Hen area, Blessinger said.
“He was only 20 feet from the road when they got him … it was in broad daylight,” he said. “And it was about half a mile from the campground. All the neighbors are packing guns now, looking for wolves.”
It is legal for people to shoot a wolf out of season if it is threatening them or their animals, Struthers said, but it is not legal to shoot a wolf on sight. Wolves are curious animals that will sometimes observe humans from a distance, she said, but that doesn’t justify shooting them.
She said that humans, including children, are generally not endangered by wolves. Bears and mountain lions are much bigger threats, she said.
Wolves are wary of humans, she said, but they “are extra-territorial” about other canines, which makes them likely to attack dogs.
“My advice to people in the campground is to keep your dogs in your sight,” Struthers said.
Kristin Rodine: 377-6447