Wolves suspected of killing dog in the woods at midnight

by Jessica Stevenson

Posted: 09.01.2014

 
COOKS -- According to the Department of Natural Resources, there are over 650 wolves throughout the Upper Peninsula.  They can be found in every county. Monday night, one family's hunting dog was killed by a wolf pack in Cooks. 

Around midnight, 12-year-old Ronnie Beckman was in the woods with his father, training his dog for hunting season. They could hear 80-pound "Scout" barking, when suddenly, it stopped. "By 20 minutes later, at max, we got kind of close to where the dog was and we found him laying dead," said Ronnie's father, Caleb Beckman. "Not much left to him."

Caleb said the dog was a loss of over $1,200, but the worst part was seeing his son lose his best friend. "I would go out and feed him every day, you know, pet him, hunt him at night," saIid Ronnie."He was my dog and it kind of makes me sad that I lost him."

Now, Ronnie said he is scared of wolves. "You never know what they're going to do" Ronnie said."They could attack you, they could attack your dog that right there in front of you. You never know what they're going to do, they're wild animals."

Ronnie's father hopes to see regulation changes and wolf season open year round. The family said the DNA has confirmed Scout's death was caused by wolves.

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