By Nigel Maxwell

Montreal Lake woman loses “best friend" to wild animal

Mar 2, 2018 | 7:00 AM

A woman from Montreal Lake, grieving the loss of her small chihuahua, is hoping her heartbreaking story can serve as an awareness message for other pet owners in her community

On the night of Feb. 24, Rebecca Ross was getting ready for bed and, like many other nights before, let her dog out first.

“It was only like five minutes and then I heard her yelping and she was nowhere near the house,” Ross said.

At this point, Ross’s boyfriend went running out to see what was going on and saw what Ross described as “a skinny dog” carrying her dog in its mouth.

“My boyfriend put on his shoes right away and he chased it,” she said. “He went through a trail and then went back onto the road, but he couldn’t see the tracks anymore because it was so far gone.”

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Since the incident, friends have told Ross the “skinny dog” she saw may have been a wolf.  Ross said she owned her dog Nala for five years, a gift after a bad breakup.

“After I got her I was happy all the time. I never really was close to anyone else, and we were always together, she said.”She was very protective and she loved being cuddled.”

A spokesperson with the Saskatchewan Environment Ministry told paNOW they have had no reports of wolves in the Montreal Lake area, though Montreal Lake Cree Nation Chief Frank Roberts said the community is being careful.

“We are keeping an eye out. The students have been sent home with notes, just for parents to keep an eye on their kids,” he said. “You just never know.”

Roberts said wild dogs are a concern in the area, but the community has a two-person team to address the problem.

“This is a continuing issue that we have in the community, and it usually picks up in the springtime,” Roberts said.

Roberts said parents were told to make sure the children are not out late wandering by themselves, and pet owners in the community have been told to keep their pets tied up and within their fences. 

nigel.maxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell