more than an hour to complete the process of gathering pictorial evidence of what had happened. After I had completed the task
it dawned on me how different these wild dogs looked. These dogs no longer looked like that loving pet that stands at the front door waiting to be let out in the morning and playing harmlessly with your small children. These dogs, having lived in the wild for a long time, had undergone many changes. They had metamorphosed into big mean killing dogs. Their ears had been torn and scars adorned their bodies and faces. They were lean and mean. They had reverted to the pack mentality. They were fearsome looking things that killed for food but also for sport, and domestic animals had little chance of surviving their attacks. I guessed that their wounds and scars had come from a feeding frenzy gone wild and having to defend themselves from other preda- tors and each other. It was 10:00 in the morning when
I drove up to Ed’s house and knocked on the door. His wife told me that he was down at the shop getting a truck ready to do some hauling. I told her what had happened this morning and she became as angry as I have ever seen her. We drove to the shop together and met with Ed and told him the story. I don’t think our readers would like me to repeat his words on the matter. He called the sheriff’s offi ce and was told that a deputy would meet us on the Smith Creek Road in an hour. Then we jumped into his truck and went up the mountain. Three quarters of an hour later
we were on the mountain at the site of the morning’s attack. We looked over the scene together and I explained to the deputy where I was and how this attack had occurred. He was satisfi ed that everything I did was not only legal under Wyoming state law but it was
of the Mississippi River. The predation by packs of dogs has gone wild in recent years and the losses in domestic animals is in the millions of dollars. The impact on wildlife is unknown but thought to be high as well. Areas around eastern cities are hardest hit. I believe the issue continues to be un- derreported and that is done to avoid raising the hackles of the animal rights groups like PETA and Friends of Animals.
T Page 36 Spring 2012
the only thing that could have been done to stop the killing. We loaded the dead dogs into
Ed’s pickup, and after giving some instructions to Miguel we started off the mountain to meet the deputy we knew was waiting on the Smith Creek Road. The deputy met us at the ap- pointed place and we transferred the dead dogs from our truck into his pickup. I surrendered the fi lm from my camera to him as evidence in the case. He took the collars and tags off the dogs that had them and told Ed that he would determine the ownership of the dogs. That information would be given to Ed so he could fi le charges in court, which would have to be done to get reimbursement for the value of the sheep lost. Within two days Ed had filed
charges against the owners of the dogs and a court date was set for mid-July. At that time we would be in court to give testimony in the case. The day came and we all were
in court. Since I was the most impor- tant witness in the case my testimony was heard fi rst. The judge who was hearing the case was visibly upset by my detailed description of what had happened on the mountain that day. When I concluded my testimony I also told the judge the deputy present was holding enlarged photographs of the scene, photographs I had taken and that I had surrendered to him the day of the attack. The judge looked at all the photos
and he became very quiet and sober. He asked the three defendants if they had seen the photographs. All said they had seen them. One of the defen- dants, the owner of the St. Bernard, was represented by counsel. Then the judge asked all three defendants and council to explain how it was that their animals, animals that they were responsible for, had gotten loose and
he releasing of domestic dogs by their owners into the wild to abandon them has become a matter of epidemic proportions, especially east
had killed so many sheep. Counsel for the one owner didn’t want his client tried with the others and wanted a separate hearing, but the judge denied that. Then the judge asked each defen- dant how it was that their dog was on that mountain. I was stunned by their answers. One of the dogs was owned by a
woman in her early 30s. She told the judge that she and her husband were in the process of a divorce and they both wanted the dog. To keep him from getting the dog in a divorce judgment, she drove the dog out on Highway 487 and dropped it off. She thought that it would fi nd a good home on a ranch near the highway. The judge shook his head in disbelief. The owner of another dog that
was wearing a collar and dog tag was very unconcerned about the whole incident. The judge took that as an in- sult to the court and after hearing her excuse as to why her dog was running at large, admonished her publicly. Her story was that she takes her dogs up on Casper Mountain and lets them run for exercise. Sometimes the dogs come back to the car and sometimes they don’t. She said that occasionally she has had to drive up the mountain the next day looking for the dogs. Again, no remorse for what her dog had done. The judge admonished her by saying, “If you come before this court again for your dogs running at large or if your dogs are involved in any other killing of domestic or wild animals, you will be brought before this court and I will forthwith sentence you to ninety days in the county jail and at that time you will be ordered not to own any dogs while you live in this county.” After all testimony had been
given, the judge ordered the bailiff to call an instate livestock exchange and determine the current price for the val- ue of the ewes and lambs killed in the attack. It was later found that the value of the animals killed was $2,740.00. However, because the facts of the case were as they were, he added what he thought was fair and the total was set at $3,000.00. In 1974 that was a lot of money. He also ordered the defendants to pay the $3,000.00 in restitution to the court within forty-eight hours or be found in contempt.
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