Lake Forest woman believes large 'grey wolf' attacked her 17-pound dog

LAKE FOREST – In the early morning of March 11, Mary Kong had quite a scare.

It was still dark out when the Lake Forest resident let her two dogs, Scottie and Maggie, out into her fenced in backyard. Almost immediately, Maggie came running back, frantically barking. Kong said Scottie, a 17-pound mixed former shelter dog, was quiet, which is unusual for him, so she used a flashlight to search the yard for him.

Kong spotted what she believes was a 100- to 120-pound grey wolf, with black markings. She said when she shined the flashlight on it and it froze.

“He had Scottie all the way in his jaw, both sides,” Kong said, adding the animal dropped her dog when the flashlight shined on it.

Kong kept the flashlight shining on the large animal and started walking toward it, with her eyes down, to get Scottie. Luckily, the dog slowly got up and started walking toward her. Kong picked up Scottie and backed away from the animal, as blood soaked through her clothes.

As soon as she got inside the house, Kong slammed the door and looked back at the yard, but the animal that attacked Scottie was gone. She cleaned up Scottie and discovered two deep lacerations on either side of his chest, so she took him to the veterinarian, where he was stitched up. He has since made a full recovery.

“Scottie is a survivor,” she said. “I’ve got to hand it to him. He’s a survivor.”

Following the attack on Scottie, Kong passed out flyers and went door-to-door to talk to her neighbors about what happened. She said one neighbor reported seeing an animal like the one she described in their yard, and another said they saw two animals like the one she described in their backyard. A third neighbor reported hearing something that could have been a wolf.

“Scottie was so silent,” Kong said. “He’s deaf, so when he barks, it’s really loud.”

Kong said although she contacted the local police department and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, she was told wolves are protected animals, so there was nothing that could be done. Knowing that people let their pets and children outside to play, she thought it was important to let her neighbors know what happened.

“The moment [Maggie] came back so frantic, I knew something was wrong,” Kong said.

Dr. Allison Herron, a veterinarian with Ruth Helen Wolf Animal Clinic and Hospital in Libertyville, treated Scottie. She said he had puncture wounds on both sides of his chest, behind the shoulder area, which is common when an animal is grabbed from above. She said he also had bruising, common with crush injuries.

Herron advises pet owners to always go outside with their pets and to keep them on a leash. She also said it is a good idea to carry an air horn.

“Hopefully it could startle the animal and scare it away,” Herron said.

Kong said she no longer lets her dogs out in the backyard when it is dark outside and that Scottie has been skittish when going out. He hardly leaves Kong’s side and quickly takes care of business so he can get back inside.

“He’s very alert now and I think he was frightened to death,” Kong said.