As I went out this evening to walk the dogs on the road in front of our house, I caught a glimpse of something dark out of the corner of my eye.  It’s interesting how human nature tricks our mind, because even though this dark animals was coming out of a thicket of woods, the first thing I thought was, “Oh, that’s weird, there’s a horse coming out of the woods.”  Of course, it wasn’t a horse, but a moose.  To make matters worse, our border collie, Shawnee, apparently thought it was either a horse or a cow, because she immediately started to run towards it.  At this point, I’m thinking, I don’t want to get any closer to this moose, but I’m terrified for the dog.  I’m screaming at her, “Shawnee, Shawnee, come here, come here!”  The moose finished crossing the road and ambled up into the woods on the other side, with the dog still following the moose.  Finally, the moose kicked its front leg towards Shawnee, and between the kick, which missed her, and my screams, finally decided to come back to me.  Even then, as I was trying to leash her, she was staring intently up the hillside at the moose.

It’s a stark reminder of how wild our environment is around us in our mountain home.  We frequently see moose, elk, fox, coyote.  We know we also have bear and mountain lion in the area.  The question is how do we balance the freedom we relish in allowing our dogs to run, with their safety (and my own)?  The state department of wildlife has the following posted on their website:

Special Notice: Dogs and Moose Do Not Play Well Together

In the wake of several people being injured by moose this year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is reminding outdoor enthusiasts that moose can be aggressive when dogs and humans get too close. Since early spring, wildlife officers have responded to three human/moose conflicts, including two recent incidents in Grand Lake. In all three instances, dogs – both on and off-leash – reportedly spooked the moose before it charged and seriously injured the dog’s owner.

Moose in Colorado have very few natural predators and they are not generally frightened by humans. However, state wildlife officials caution that the large ungulates see dogs as a threat due to their similarities with wolves, their primary predator. Wildlife officials caution that dogs should never be allowed to approach a moose.

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