Man suspects wolf is pet cemetery grave-robber

A Happy Valley-Goose Bay man believes a wolf dug up a grave in an unofficial pet cemetery in the Labrador town.

Edward Mesher said he was walking through the cemetery, which is tucked away in the woods behind the town's military base, on Oct. 24. He was looking at white crosses and monuments to pets with names such as Smokey and Sparky, when he noticed that a grave decorated with white stones had been disturbed.

On closer examination, he found a large hole about a foot deep with some cloth left in it. Mesher figured he was looking at the disturbed grave of a dog.

"You can see where the wolf dug out the dog and ate him," said Mesher.

Wolf did it, Mesher says

Mesher said he's convinced a wolf was the culprit because later the same day, he spotted a large, beautiful white wolf prowling near the cemetery.

Mesher also pointed out large animal tracks in the cemetery that he believes were made by a wolf. 

"Right away, I thought to myself, that wolf must have been hungry to dig up a grave like that and haul the carcass out," mused Mesher.

He admitted he found the scene a bit disturbing.

"I got a dog myself. I wouldn't want to see it buried and dug up," said Mesher. "But then, it's only nature, eh? The animal is hungry and it's food, I guess."

Mesher added there are some fairly new graves at the cemetery, and he's concerned the fresh carcasses may encourage the wolf to do more digging for dead pets.