News - Local
Wildlife officer kills dog harassing elk
Posted: Mar 14, 2010 10:12 AM by Associated Press
A Colorado wildlife officer has shot and killed an unleashed dog that was harassing an elk near Durango.
The officer was called by a resident to the Animas River north of Durango on Thursday. The barking dog had caused the elk to enter deep water. The wildlife officer shot the dog, described as a mixed breed weighing between 30 pounds and 40 pounds.
Department of Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski says that killing a dog is "the last thing we want to do" but that the shooting was justified.
Wildlife officials and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management alerted the public this winter about the pressure that people and dogs put on elk and deer that winter in the area. In February, the DOW reported that a calf elk was wounded by two dogs.
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