Dog killed by elk, a word of caution about pets and wildlife

Shared with permission from Laura Bessire Kidd:
Friends, I wanted to share a sad and terrible thing that happened on Friday. One of our beautiful dogs, Ruckus, was gored by an elk, right in our front yard in broad daylight. We have an underground fence and he had only been outside for about five minutes...but this happened just a few feet outside our front door. We didn't know the elk was there, and we believe they surprised each other, and that Ruckus died almost instantly from the antler wound. We are heartbroken and miss him terribly, as does his brother and littermate, Gunner. I share this only as a reminder that though our local wildlife is beautiful, they are also dangerous and I am learning the hard way that you can never be too careful. There are many dangers here in the mountains and I pray none of you have to experience something like this. Rest In Peace, beautiful boy.