Wolves or German Sheperds?

I usually try to give someone the benefit of the doubt. I've seen some weird things happen with 13 years in EMS and being a reserve deputy for 5. I could see how it could happen. Your way back in the mountains, dusk, you see a large furry canine walking along in the tall grass, you only see it's back and head, White/grey/black fur (look at the fur on the dogs. it's not the usual solid black on the back like most shepherds.), it's head is dark but you can't see it clearly in the shadow and grass. Wolf! Yeah... MAYBE. I could even understand them being around your pack because it has a curious smell... But then you walk up to them and still think they are wolves. Notch your tag and blow up the internet.... That's where I personally get pretty doubtful of your ability to identify them.

That being said. What I didn't say about my wolf was mine was collared. I never saw the dark leather collar on it when I looked through the binos or scope. Her fur hid it so well. 4-5 inch fur totally covered the collar. I saw long black/grey/white fur in tall grass. Identified the features I could see as wolf. Remember she was laying flat in brush when I spotted her. Shot it on the run when she took off after reconfirming in my mind it was a wolf. I didn't see the collar until I got up to it. I rolled it over and saw a wide leather collar, Shat my pants thinking I just dusted a runaway Malamute by mistake when I KNEW 100% It was a wolf before pulling the trigger. Then I saw IDFG on the brass tag. I relaxed a little after that. Some dogs are so close in looks to wolves I could see an occasional miss-identification in moments like that. I was standing 2 feet from mine when I saw a collar and had a little "oh sh*t" moment. Most people can identify pointers and hounds. But if you have a wolf like dog with heavy fur PLEASE put something bright and identifying on it. Pink or orange vest, bandanna, bow on the collar, whatever! Wolves come in all kinds of colors too. Some look very close to dogs. Just look through some pics on here. MTGomer your second wolf is colored very shepherd like. Which is why color isn't a main identifier. I looked at ears, snout, and tail. For those who say a collar is a dead givaway, in this picture my wolf is still wearing the collar, and the BRIGHT green ear tag in the right ear. Can you see them? Granted I rotated the radio to the back side but the collar is still there under the fur. And Fish and Game does collar wolves... obviously.

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I should point out that I'm NOT defending that guy... This was a blatent whoops, followed by another whoopsie, then just flat out ignorance. A total trail of bad decisions on his part. Lock up your mules if he draws a moose tag.... But there is a lot of debate on identifiers so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth. And that's all it is. A chance to share some info. Many of you hope to shoot one someday and I hope you can identify it quickly and accurately when you need to. I just don't want to see any of you make a similar mistake. Some of you live where there are no wolves and the first time you see one may be the only time you have a chance to shoot one. I just want to help you do it with confidence.
 
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I usually try to give someone the benefit of the doubt. I've seen some weird things happen with 13 years in EMS and being a reserve deputy for 5. I could see how it could happen. Your way back in the mountains, dusk, you see a large furry canine walking along in the tall grass, you only see it's back and head, White/grey/black fur (look at the fur on the dogs. it's not the usual solid black on the back like most shepherds.), it's head is dark but you can't see it clearly in the shadow and grass. Wolf! Yeah... MAYBE. I could even understand them being around your pack because it has a curious smell... But then you walk up to them and still think they are wolves. Notch your tag and blow up the internet.... That's where I personally get pretty doubtful of your ability to identify them.

It's not possible to give this guy a benefit of a doubt. The dogs were not laying in the grass hiding they were laying near his pack. There was no low light situation because as you can see it is bright daylight in his " I just shot 2 wolves pic". The guy is just a low-life scumbag with a history of game violations.
 
It's not possible to give this guy a benefit of a doubt. The dogs were not laying in the grass hiding they were laying near his pack. There was no low light situation because as you can see it is bright daylight in his " I just shot 2 wolves pic". The guy is just a low-life scumbag with a history of game violations.

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Gr8bawana, are you the same guy that wished death on this kid for shooting the dogs?
 
I guess I meant to word it, "If in that circumstance then yeah, MAYBE" I do know I've never seen two canines of any kind die belly up next to each other like in the photo. Which tells me they were moved probably to a clearer area for photos. I'm sure you've done that. Getting to the animals, positioning them, taking photos could take time from dim early morning hours to photo time. Like I said I'm not defending his actions. In fact every action after trigger pull is beyond what I would feel to be fair open mindedness to the situation. The fact he got to them, still took photos, posted, ignored the people saying hey those are dogs, etc. Those are more damnable to me. I agree he's wrong there. The guy who measured my antelope saw my wolf and mentioned something about this guy. He also said that 3 other dogs have fallen under similar circumstances. He said there is absolutely no way you can mistake a dog for a wolf. I simply disagree having been around them both for a while. I can see how it COULD happen and not that it SHOULD happen. Try to take your time and do everything you can to not be this guy. If one of you has a "Whoops" I hope we can at least give you a second to consider how you may have made that decision incorrectly. We are only human after all.
 
So there's this comment:


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When you go to the page of the guy who made the comment;

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His page has a link to smsgsd.com. (Silver Mountain german Shepherds) owned by Paul and Christie Batruel


Jail is in this guys future I hope.
 
Taken from that website. I could see how one of these trotting through the trees could be mistaken for a wolf if it's face wasn't turned to you.

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Like you said MTGomer. And I agree. A mistake is one thing. The actions after are what matters. I was just trying to point out to the jury here that mistaken identity is possible and don't solidify in your mind that it's always easy to differentiate dog and wolf. If he did admit he knew they were dogs when he shot then he just closed my open mindedness to his situation.
 
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I agree. Both wolves I shot, I was positive they were wolves and I still had a few moments of worry before I got up to them even though I was the only person parked at the trailhead and I was miles and miles from it, it is still something that crosses your mind, or at least my mind, from the time you pull the trigger to the moment you get your hands on it.
 
Taken from that website. I could see how one of these trotting through the trees could be mistaken for a wolf if it's face wasn't turned to you.

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Like you said MTGomer. And I agree. A mistake is one thing. The actions after are what matters. I was just trying to point out to the jury here that mistaken identity is possible and don't solidify in your mind that it's always easy to differentiate dog and wolf. If he did admit he knew they were dogs when he shot then he just closed my open mindedness to his situation.

A lot of good points here from Firedude. I do see how it would be possible to mistake a shepherd or other type dog for a wolf in a hunting situation. Back in 2007 or '08 I was all excited to get some video of a "wolf" walking down the railroad tracks about 15 miles from town. This was before we had a season but was right at the base of the mountains and wolves were just becoming numerous enough that it was reasonable. Turned out it was a wolf albeit a 97% hybrid that was a pet and had gotten off its chain and struck out on its own. It was at least 20 miles from home. I saw it again a couple weeks later outside its owner's house. He mentioned that she had been gone for a while and was really sore when she got back. Had it been a legal season and in a safe place to shoot, I would have totally shot it thinking it was a wild wolf. I can see how it happens.

In this situation though, shooting them might have been an honest mistake. Notching a tag and not being able to identify them when he walked up on them shows a complete lack of competence. Posting pictures of dead dogs and bragging about the justification of it to his "fans" goes way past anything I can have sympathy for. This guy has serious character issues.
 
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It looks like his name is Brandon pitcher

Beside all the dog killing stuff, anyone else think those sheds have cut bottoms? Between the dog killing, the social media coverage of the dog killing, these "sheds", and his prior fish and game infraction, I think this guy is clearly shootin' hole in the bottom of the "hunting" boat. We should throw him out. Him and Nuge
 
Beside all the dog killing stuff, anyone else think those sheds have cut bottoms? Between the dog killing, the social media coverage of the dog killing, these "sheds", and his prior fish and game infraction, I think this guy is clearly shootin' hole in the bottom of the "hunting" boat. We should throw him out. Him and Nuge

Yes- the bottoms look cut off to me.
 
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