To the editor:
I have been housesitting at 14 Mile Chena Hot springs road since early fall. I have three dogs, and over the past several months, I have hiked numerous miles on the trails around there.
I too, got caught up in the wolf scare, and along with my camera, started lugging my gun along on our daily hikes. As winter came, and ponds and marsh froze up, we ranged farther and farther out on our walks.
Here is the strange thing. I have only seen one solitary track about 5 miles off the road, heading toward the mountains.
Maybe I am blind, but then so would be the several pilots who flew over the area with the same results. I would think if wolves are coming into yards and killing dogs, would there not be some sign of them in the nearby backcountry?
Having grown up in the Brooks Range, with close to 30 sled dogs, wolves have always been very aloof. Most times the only sign of them were tracks, and sometimes hearing them howling at night many miles away.
Something seems amiss here. I feel bad for the individuals who lost their dogs. Is it possible there are other dogs in the neighborhood running amuck?
One wolf, or several, would draw instant attention, but most people would not take a second look at several loose sled dogs carousing through a neighborhood. I called Animal Control a couple times because of five or six less-then-friendly dogs (yes, they were dogs, the collars gave them away) that showed up in my yard.
Help me out folks, I feel I am missing something here?
Richard Hayden Jr.
Two Rivers | 
