“It feels like a war zone. It’s scary man. It’s crazy,” said Bill Thome, owner of Kenbuck Resort in Schoolcraft County, near where the dogs were killed. He says there have been multiple sightings this summer.
“One was running right down the middle of the freakin’ road."
One of the dog owners, Michael Crippen, a guest at the resort, had two hunting dogs killed on Monday, Thome said. Crippen also had two bluetick hounds killed last fall.
The dog owner witnessed one wolf in the act of Monday's attack, and tried to collar the dog, which was killed.
“They were face to face for quite a few minutes,” Thome said. “One dog was baying up and barking at this big wolf. He (Crippen) could hear brush breaking all around him. They had him circled."
Four other dogs were saved, Thome said.
July 8 marked the beginning of the dog training season, when attacks by wolves on hounds typically begin. There had been no hound attacks prior to this week’s incidents.
In Wednesday’s hound attack, about nine miles from Monday’s, Larry Martin was training his beagles when two were attacked and killed by wolves, Thome said.
“They dragged one of his dogs a mile away and buried it,” Thome said, adding the dog was found because it wore a tracking collar. The incident happened less than three miles from his five-cabin resort, about 18 miles south of Munising.
Thome said Martin told him a wolf pack in the area was on an 11-day cycle, providing him some confidence, but the pack showed up in the middle of the cycle.
