SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Brian Piro let his dog Homer run ahead of him as he got dressed to go outside on Sunday morning, Dec. 5. That was the last time he saw his dog alive and the second time he had to say goodbye to a family pet killed in a wolf attack.

Homer, the latest victim, was killed only a few meters from Piro's house in the Kam Lake industrial park and then dragged several hundred metres up a hill.

It's the second reported attack by wolves on dogs in the last month. A pair of women were out walking their dogs at the Sand Pits on Nov. 23 when one wolf followed by two others grabbed one of the dogs by the neck. One of the women managed to chase the animal away.

Piro said while he's saddened at Homer's demise - a pet he's had at his side for 12 years - he's not angry at the wolves.

"We've always had wolves," Piro said. He remembers around 35 years ago, and again 10 years ago, there was a problem with wolves in the city and understands that pets may draw a wolf's attention. "They're never far away."

He has seen wolves pass uncomfortably close by his home before. Once he saw one pulling an entire caribou hide from a garbage bin and casually trot off with it in its mouth.

Ten years ago Homer's brother Benson was killed by a wolf. Piro called the Department of Environment and Natural Resources after Homer went missing.

He and some wildlife officers tracked prints from a single wolf behind the home heading up a steep ridge and it was there they found Homer's body. They continued to track the wolf southwest to Grace Lake, but didn't find it.

Judy McLinton, communications manager with the department, said it's possible the wolf that killed Homer was one of those involved in the Sand Pits attack.

"We just remind people to keep your dog on a leash," McLinton said.

"Every year there are wolves."

The Northwest Territories is the last jurisdiction in Canada where wolves live in close proximity to populated cities and towns, according to the department's website.

Piro said he's worried people will react to the attack on his dog and want to kill the wolf.

"We accepted the fact that one day (this) might happen," he said.

"You have to make the choice if you live out here. You either put your dog in a pen, or give him a bit of freedom."

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