During the 2020 general election, Colorado voters approved the reintroduction and management of gray wolves. Since then, you can’t find a more divisive issue. And we hope you don’t. The chasm between rural ranchers and urban voters seems to have plunged deeper than ever before, but beneath the headlines you’ll find people trying to adapt to make things work.
Here we have a story from North Park, Colorado, where man’s best friend is also their perennial employee of the month. Where, on Moriah Ranch near Coalmont, Marcy Gruber puts in the extra effort to nurture her dogs’ instincts to protect livestock instead of hunting it.
This is also the story of the big, fluffy pup named Vacillie whose 12 years have spanned across the Rocky Mountains and encountered every kind of predator but, at the end of the day, he just needs a pat on the back and some kind words (and a pound or so of food).
So with an old predator back in town and roaming around for a meal, this becomes quite the human story of perseverance, understanding, and adaptation. Enter Marcy and her husband, Dave, who are changing things to make ranching work — or even more work — to feed one apex predator without losing out to another.
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