SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Halfway through her charge at some hungry wolves, Laura Howden Dies re-evaluated her plan.

"Suddenly I thought, 'if they don't back down, what do I do?'"

Laura Howden Dies, left, came to the rescue of Mira Hall's dog, Burrito, on Tuesday evening, when the white shepherd was attacked by wolves. - Aaron Beswick/NNSL photo

A wolf had her friend's 50-pound white shepherd by the neck, with two more wolves closing in. Dies' dog, a 65-pound mutt who evidently considers discretion the better part of valour, turned tail and ran for the truck. Hall, meanwhile, watched the whole scene with a confused expression.

"I heard the dogs yelping and didn't really know what was happening, I thought they were fighting," said Hall of the incident at the Sand Pits on Highway 3 between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesday. "I guess she's a little quicker on the uptake than I am because she just took off yelling and waving her arms."

But Dies questioned her own wisdom as she closed in on a wolf that just stared back at her.

"He seemed to be wondering whether I was a threat, but he wasn't scared. So I just started yelling louder and waving my arms more."

Resentfully, the wolf let the terrified dog go and joined his two buddies in making for the woods.

Dies and Hall loaded their dogs aboard the truck.

"The adrenaline was pumping, it was surreal," remembered Hall of how their encounter sank in.

The white shepherd, named Burrito, did not sustain injuries to its throat but did suffer scratches on its hind quarters.

The two mothers prowled around the Sand Pits in the truck looking for the wolves, spotting six. The next morning Hall called the Department of Environment to report the encounter and was told the animal that attacked her dog was most likely a coyote.

But Dies, who has seen both coyotes and wolves in the wild, was adamant.

"Those were wolves, no doubt about it," she said. "They were up to twice the size of my dog and when I checked their prints I could put my fist in the print without touching the edges."

Despite the encounter, Dies won't be deterred from walking her dog in the area. Though in the future she intends to keep Coco on a leash.

As for whether something should be done about wolves so close to the city, she responded, "you have to keep in mind that we're infringing on their territory. Wolves will be wolves."

The Department of Environment did not respond to Yellowknifer's call by deadline, though Hall reported she'd been told the department would send officers to the Sand Pits to investigate.

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