Skip to content

Family dog survives attack by wolves

Brio lucky to be alive after early morning encounter
Chris Bolster

A family that lives in upper Westview is thankful for their neighbour disrupting an attack on their dog in the early hours of Thursday, July 25.

“Brio, our biggest dog, was jumped by wolves about a week ago,” said Eli Schweitzer. Brio is a Burmese mountain dog cross. “You’d think he’d be able to stand up to a wolf, but no.”

Schweitzer described how in the summer it is not out of the ordinary for the family’s three dogs to want to go out at the crack of dawn and explore all the summer smells, but that morning they were more jumpy than usual.

At about 5 am the dogs were let outside, but about 15 minutes later the family heard barking and some terrible yelping.

Schweitzer’s father got out of bed to investigate and call the dogs back in. The dogs were on the neighbours’ property so he did not see what had the dogs so excited.

“All three dogs came running inside right away which was strange,” he said “They don’t usually come right away when they are called.”

The family discovered Brio covered in blood a little later and took him to see the veterinarian right away. He was there the whole morning.

“When we got him back, he neck was so swollen he looked like a bullfrog,” said Schweitzer. “He was terribly bruised and was mauled pretty badly with puncture wounds.”

Later the family found out from the neighbour, who was returning home in her car, that she had interrupted a fight between Brio and a wolf, giving the dog enough time to run home. The neighbour reported that she saw one wolf involved in the attack and about five others watching.

“Fortunately though, because of his thick fur, they couldn’t latch on very well,” said Schweitzer.

BC Conservation Officer Gerry Lister explained that while there have been many sightings of wolves there have been few reports to the wildlife conservation service. The only report that he found was on Wednesday, July 24, on Cedar Crest Road, where it was reported that wolves were sighted and a golden retriever went missing.

“No other reports were made in that area,” said Lister.

Lister said that dog owners need to take extra precaution when letting their dogs out as wolves will feel threatened by male dogs.

To report a conflict with wildlife or a witnessed conservation violation, readers can call 1.877.952.RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters).