Moose attack hospitalizes Willow man

WILLOW - A man was attacked and badly injured while walking his dogs near the Willow Airport late Friday morning.

George Murphy and Dorothea Taylor had taken their two golden retrievers out for a walk on the frontage road across from the Willow Fire Station when a moose attacked George, causing a large laceration to his head and breaking seven ribs.

Beth Taber, chairman of Willow Winter Carnival, also is one of the couple's neighbors on Long Lake. She said she was passing by on the Parks Highway when she saw an ambulance.

"I looked and looked again," Taber said. "I saw George's truck so I turned around."

She said George had gotten out of the vehicle to help his old dog back in the truck when the moose attacked.

"Dorothea started yelling at the moose and eventually she got a shovel and hit the moose," Taber said.

Dorothea ran the moose off and then went to Denali Air Service where Barry Stanley called 911, Taber said. The emergency call came in at 11:39 a.m., Friday.

"You've heard the saying dynamite comes in small packages? The packages don't get much smaller or the explosions much bigger than Dorothea," Taber said.

Willow emergency services crews responded to the scene and called for a LifeMed helicopter to transport the injured man to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Taber said after George was loaded into the helicopter for transport, Willow medic Jo Pendleton asked her to drive Dorothea to meet George at Providence.

Reached at the hospital, Taber said George was in the Intensive Care Unit.

He is in serious condition, according to hospital spokesperson Ginger Houghton.

"The news has traveled fast," Taber said. "We've already had several pilots in here already checking up on him."

George is a longtime pilot who still owns the 1946 Aeronica Sedan he purchased in 1953. He is a longtime Bush pilot flying for the Iditarod Air Force in support of the annual sled dog race.

Division of Wildlife Conservation heard about the incident early Friday afternoon and sent staff to patrol the area looking for moose that appeared to be acting aggressively, according to Bruce Dale, Region IV supervisor. Staff patrolled the area again Saturday morning, he said, but located no moose in the area that appeared aggressive.

"ADF&G staff will continue to monitor the area," he said.

Dale said this winter's deep snowpack is causing stress to the animals, which are gravitating toward areas with shallow snow or packed snow, such as roads, trails and driveways.

"Moose may be more aggressive and agitated than usual and defend areas with shallow snow," he said. "People should be extra cautious and give moose a wide berth."

During an average winter, about 270 moose die in collisions with vehicles. As of Jan. 19, there had been 269 moose-vehicle collisions in the Valley, according to Tim Peltier, acting area game manager for the Palmer office of Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Dale urged drivers to be vigilant and slow down, especially at night and when visibility is limited.

Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said that troopers were not called to the scene.

Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Doug Massie said that he was working Friday but didn't get word of the incident until Saturday.

In general, he said, in rare cases troopers have had to deal with problem moose in the past.

"Sometimes you get repeat problem moose and the only option is to put them down," Massie said.

Calls to Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services were not returned as of press time.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.