SIERRA COUNTY – An investigation is underway in the Northern California high country after a dog apparently mistaken for a wolf was shot and killed.
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office posted earlier this week that a dog owner was looking for their lost pet, named Benson, who had run off from the Sierra Brooks neighborhood. Benson was less than a year old and friendly, the owners reported.
Deputies say, Tuesday morning, they also got reports of a possible wolf sighting in the Sierra Brooks area. Further investigation revealed that the sighting was actually that of a dog that had escaped its yard.
Notably, deputies say the dog mistaken for a wolf had an orange collar – unlike the kind of GPS collars some of the gray wolves have that are being tracked in eastern Sierra County.
Later on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office revealed that the dog that had been mistaken for a wolf was found dead. It had apparently been shot, deputies say.
The sheriff’s office says they are continuing to investigate the dog’s death and are interviewing people. The person who originally posted about the dog is cooperating with the investigation, deputies say, and isn’t considered a suspect.
Sierra Brooks is a Sierra County community about 40 miles north of Truckee.
Gray wolves are listed as an endangered species in California, meaning taking an animal is prohibited anywhere in the state.
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