Dear HCN,
Hugh B. McKeen cried wolf
in the article “Wolves go wild in the Southwest” (HCN, 2/16/98).
McKeen, who is convinced that people have been killed by wolves,
predicts a child will be killed by Mexican wolves within a few
years. That dog don’t hunt. Compared to Fido, the family pet,
wolves are saints. Consider this:
* Dogs bite
almost 4.5 million people each year;
* Almost
800,000 of these bites require medical
attention;
* Most bites are inflicted by family
pets or dogs known to the victim.
The Insurance
Information Institute estimates that up to one-third of homeowners’
liability claims are for dog attacks.
There has
never been a documented case of a healthy wolf attacking a human.
I’ll take my chances with a wolf over Fido any
day.
Drusha L.
Mayhue
Bozeman,
Montana
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Watch out for Fido.
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