My Grandma, what large teeth you have!

The spring time ritual of the wolf invasion seems to be around the Podunk area, a number of wolf sightings have been reported around the city and in the Ridley Island area. From the hackingthemainframe message boards to the pages of the Daily News, the wolves are here and seemingly ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting citizenry.

With the warmer weather come the wolves, and little children and small animals need to take heed. The Daily news has a couple of close encounters of the carnivorous kind recounted below.

WOLVES AT THE CITY’S DOOR CAUSE ALARM
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Thursday, May 11
Pages One and Three

After a close encounter with a wolf, a Prince Rupert man has a simple message for local residents: Don’t feed the animals.

“We’re in the wolves’ territory, we’re encroaching on their area generally and I understand that,” said Bruce Leslie. “But we shouldn’t be enticing them.

“It’s a game that’s dangerous and either the wolf is going to get shot or someone is going to get hurt.”

Leslie has received a number of reports that people are feeding wolves on the Ridley Island Access Road while there to collect recently cut down wood. The results of that practice recently fell squarely on the man and his dog Cactus, a 10 year old springer spaniel, during their daily lunchtime walk.

“I was walking with my (six foot walking) stick and the dog’s in front, all of a sudden there’s a wolf about 10 feet behind me,” he said. I lifted my stick towards the wolf and as soon as I did, the dog went right after him.”

Leslie managed to call Cactus back before he entered the tree line; however the wolf followed the dog back.

“A second time, the dog came right up to me again and the wolf’s right there even closer so I turn and take a swing at the wolf with my stick,” he said. “The dog’s biting at his heels and chasing him away, but the wolf is just loping away like he’s playing.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a game for Cactus who chased the wolf down into a ditch and got his leg caught between some rocks.

“As soon as it happens, the wolf turned on the dog,” said Leslie. “I’m at the top and I’m flying down the rocks, I’ve got no idea how the hell I got down there, swinging at the wolf.

“As soon as I did that, he backed up a bit. I was able to get the dog’s leg out and get back up the bank.”

The well-timed approach of a truck discouraged the wolf and allowed Leslie and Cactus, who was uninjured, to cross the road. Thinking they were safe and hoping the wolf had gone back into the woods, the pair headed back down the road, until Leslie saw a second vehicle slowly pass him and stop.

“Another vehicle coming saw (the wolf) behind me so they slowed down and turned,” he said. I saw them turning so I looked behind me to see what was going – on and the wolf was right there.

“A predatory feeling was definitely evident.”

The sound of Leslie’s stick on the ground frightened the wolf back, and the vehicle pulled between the man and his dog so they could get to safety at the landfill.

“If I didn’t have the stick there, I wouldn’t have been able to get close enough to scare (the wolf), he said.

Leslie added that dog owners need to keep their pets on a leash even when they feel comfortable in an area. “When we go for a walk now (Cactus) doesn’t go more than three or four feet ahead of me, he’s still quite nervous.”

Closer to town, an eight year old and his little brother were approached by a wolf on Easter Monday while playing outside on Gull Crescent in the city’s Upper East side.

“(My son Brandon) came out from between the houses with his little brother and the wolf approached them,” said Ruby Bishop. “He sent his brother away to get some help, and of course he came home… we heard a scream and went to the door the tears were just coming down.

“The wolf was just standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac.”

Two neighbours intervened to ensure Brandon was safe, however the wolf continued to hang around, RCMP were called but could not locate the animal.

“It was scary for him, “said Bishop, adding her sister made Brandon a plaque for saving his little brother. “We’ve kept them kids close since.”