Monday came after winter storm Xylia and for some, life went back to normal after shoveling out of a short winter hibernation. Lauren Sturges lives off of U.S. Highway 34, west of the Devil's Backbone, and was doing what most of us did on Monday: dig out. However, she was able to see a once-in-a-lifetime event involving one of her dogs.

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The resident herd of elk near her property prompted a line of cars to witness the animals roaming around in the snow. Then she saw something truly amazing. A female elk was nose to nose with her 5-month-old Gray Pyrenees puppy named Winston. The encounter between the puppy and the elk occurred through the fence. After the female elk licked the puppy on the nose, a bull elk came over to inspect the puppy too. The bull elk proceeded to kiss the 70-pound puppy on the nose.

Sturges told the Reporter-Herald that she kept a close eye on the behavior of the elk to make sure that they were not becoming aggressive during the interaction. Sturges eventually had to shoe away the elk after her second puppy came over and put his paws up on the fence.

Sturges said that the moment was magical and kind of a reward after working their butts off all weekend.

I spoke with Lauren over Facebook messenger and she said that she hopes people will be respectful of the wildlife and drive safely, especially during and after snowstorms when the elk are constantly moving and crossing roads to find food.

Source: Reporter-Herald 

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