What is thought to be a wolf-dog in the Parksville area has attacked again.
It happened on a rural property in Coombs where a dog was off-leash. The dog owner says it’s time to ramp up efforts to catch and euthanize the wolf-dog.
The regular morning walk for Trevor Hocking and his dog Riley started normally last Thursday. But their stroll around the edge of their Virginia Road property was interrupted by what’s believed to be the wolf-dog.
“I was pretty freaked out afterwards. I don’t think I really realized at the moment what was going on. I was just so scared of losing him,” said Trevor Hocking, Riley’s owner.
The encounter started when Riley was chasing a couple of deer before running back. That’s when Hocking saw Riley being chased by the wolf-dog.
“It managed to catch up to him and bit right down on his rear end and knocked him right to the ground, then it just started attacking him, and Riley was yelping, so I ran as fast as I could over there and was just yelling and trying to get them to break it up,” said Hocking.
Hocking chased the wolf-dog and scared it off. He then took some pictures on his phone.
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(The wolf-dog pictured on March 7, 2024, after it bit Trevor Hocking’s dog.)
“I’ve seen a couple photos of it, and it looked pretty small, but when I saw it in person, I was like, that is a big creature,” said Hocking.
His Australian Shepherd suffered puncture wounds and needed antibiotics.
It’s just the latest attack since the wolf dog was abandoned in the area in September. In November, one attack killed a family dog in Coombs.
It’s nicknamed WD-40 as the wolf-dog in the back 40 keeps slipping away from capture.
The area director with the Regional District of Nanaimo says WD-40’s status is leaving him in a jurisdictional void.
“Because of what’s happening with wild animals being bred with domestic, we are in a bit of a conundrum in this province,” said Leanne Salter, the area director for Area F, which includes Coombs, Hilliers, Errington, Whiskey Creek and Meadowood.
Salter says the Union of BC Municipalities passed a resolution in 2023 to address animals that are part wild and part domestic.
“Really, if we had the legislation in place, this could’ve been dealt with in September,” said Salter.
Salter says the Regional District has a plan to trap the wolf-dog, but Hocking says enough is enough.
“If it were a regular dog, with how many attacks it’s done on other people’s pets, I mean, it would be put down, so I think it should be destroyed at this point,” said Hocking.
A controversial decision since some people think the wolf-dog could be rehabilitated.
Hocking says for now he will take Riley for walks in busier areas while keeping him on a leash.
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Kendall Hanson
