A Tribute to Pets Loved and Lost
Wolfi was adopted from a shelter in Pittsburgh, PA in 2000. He traveled and lived with us in Europe from 2000 until 2005. Wolfi was an exceptional German Shepherd Dog. He was happy every day of his short life. Even though he suffered from epilepsy, he never complained. Wolfi loved life itself. He loved taking hikes and walks throughout Germany, chasing field mice and romping in the meadows. Wolfi loved all humans, which ultimately led to his death.
Upon returning to the USA in 2005, we were living in Green Bay, WI. We rented a house in Oconto Falls, WI with several acres of land and a small lake, thinking it would be perfect for a dog. A mere 17 days after moving there, Wolfi was kidnapped from the property while his owners were at home, indoors, and Wolfi was in the side yard on a dog run. The house sat nearly 1/4 mile back from the road. As far as could be determined, the kidnapper lured Wolfi with beef jerky, because the wrapper was found lying on the ground. Wolfi was kidnapped by a 19 year old man named Eric Porte, who lived on the same road a few houses away and who had a criminal record including domestic violence and driving while intoxicated convictions. This man and his female accomplice, Corrine Jepson, tied Wolfi in the bed of the woman's pickup truck. Wolfi attempted to escape and died of strangulation.
No one ever notified us of Wolfi's death even though they obviously knew where we lived and the kidnappers had taken Wolfi's lifeless body to the local vet hospital, where Wolfi's microchip was scanned and his owners' information was recovered. Wolfi's body was then thrown into a hastily dug hole on the man's parents' property. We searched for Wolfi for 3 days, visiting all animal shelters, knocking on every door in the neighborhood, passing out flyers, combing the woods, searching the lake in a row boat and advertising on local radio stations. On the third day, we returned to one house where no one had previously been at home and then uncovered the grisly truth. When we later tried to speak to Corrine Jepson regarding the tragedy, Ms. Jepson's husband drove onto our property in the same pickup truck in which Wolfi had been kidnapped and threatened us with his shotgun, we had better not be going around the village asking any questions.
Later, another neighbor on the street informed us that the Jepson family had kidnapped their dog when it was a puppy and had demanded ransom. This neighbor recovered their dog.
The Oconto Falls, WI Sheriff's Department took no interest in the incident. The District Attorney's office was well-accquainted with Eric Porte and his family, but would not pursue any charges unless the Sheriff's Department arrested Mr. Porte.
Wolfi's body was recovered and buried in his favorite spot by the lake. He was buried in a pine coffin with his favorite orange football squeaky toy, his body wrapped in the American flag and the bedspread from the our own bed. An evergreen tree was planted over his grave.
We would like to say to these two people - the day that you took our Wolfi, you took our best friend, who meant obviously nothing to you, just a dog - one you thought you could perhaps try to sell and get money for drugs or alcohol. You changed our lives forever and showed us how deep the cruelty of humans can be.
We had more photos of Wolfi, but our old Fuji digital camera malfunctioned and all photos were mistakenly deleted from the memory chip. The photos shown here are from a CD which we created in Germany. |
