Greetings,
Friday morning (4/12/2024) at about 100:00 AM, my wife and her two dogs were attacked by a pack of hunting dogs. Andrea was walking on the road east of the Nevada Northern Railway mainline, near the gravel pit siding. She found herself encircled by about seven dogs. She was clutching both of her dogs, while kicking and screaming at the attackers who had surrounded them. She describes an eternity before the attacking dogs suddenly retreated. Had they been “called off” by their master via the radio collars? The man had sped away from the scene in his pickup and was out of sight. “Happy”, a 12 pound miniature poodle was gone – carried from the scene by one of the attackers. “Happy” was found hours later at another location, and delivered to the custody of Animal Control in Ely. She was seriously injured, and treated by a veterinarian that night. “Gizmo”, a 10 pound Pomeranian/Shih Tzu was not so fortunate. He was bleeding internally and could not be saved. My wife is inconsolable. Although she was not bitten, she wrongly blames herself for the injury and death that resulted from the attack; as though a small (4 feet, 10 inches), unarmed woman could protect herself and two small dogs from a pack of trained hunting dogs.
I am appealing for help with two objectives: First, I want to identify the person or persons who found “Happy” and got her to safety. She surely would have died without this assistance. Animal Control will not disclose who brought her in. My most sincere thanks go out to those responsible for this act of charity. Secondly, but just as importantly, I want to prevent this tragedy from happening to anyone else. I talked with the man who, I believe, is responsible for this attack. He says he did nothing wrong. I disagree. In fact, I believe that anyone who would run a pack of trained hunters along a trail that is well-used by the public has a duty to keep control of his animals. The injury and loss of life that resulted from this single incident are proof that even more serious losses might occur. If a man cannot or will not control his dogs, then he should not be permitted to take them into a public setting. I once lost a dog to a mountain lion. It was in a wilderness setting, and I cannot blame the cat. But to hear a grown man argue that he is not responsible for the deaths his dogs might cause?! That argument sickens me. And it should serve as a warning to anyone out walking her dog.
My most sincere thanks go out to Andrew Hall at Ely Animal Control, Ely Veterinary Care, and Steptoe Valley Veterinary Services who proved essential during this tragedy.
I would appreciate any comments or information that might be offered.
Sincerely,
Marty Westland
Contact: martywestland@att.net – Ph. 775-293-2729
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