Mulehunter, I understand how you must have felt having one dog killed on the spot by wolves and another that suffered from the attack until it finally died. I know you are very close to your dogs and that they mean a lot to you.
I worry about the same thing. But, I don't think there is a way to hold any government agency responsible or it would have occurred in the past. Many hunting dogs, herding dogs, and family pets have been killed by wolves in Idaho, Montana, Wisconsin, and now yours in Washington. I think there has been some re-imbursement for loss of herding dogs, but I have not heard of anyone getting any kind of reimbursement for their loss of hunting dogs or family pets. Now that Defenders of Wildlife have discontinued their reimbursement program, I don't know if there will be any re-imbursements for any dogs killed by wolves.
Perhaps the best plan is to request a better re-imbursement program in the Washington Wolf Plan. Currently there are some provisions for livestock loss re-imbursement. It certainly seems that if Washington wants to build up wolf numbers they should be willing to pay for all losses caused by these wolves that are being forced upon us.
What do the rest of you folks think?
