On Wednesday, Thomas Carlstedt was out on his daily morning walk in Gisslarbo in Västmanland together with his labrador Elvis, who is often allowed to run loose. But when they had about a kilometer to go home, the dog suddenly stopped.
– So I turn around, and then there is a wolf 15 meters behind the dog, says Thomas Carlstedt.
He got scared, mainly because of the dog, and quickly connected Elvis. But when neither the dog nor the wolf made a move, he calmed down.
Followed me all the way home
Since the wolf didn’t seem aggressive, XXX tried to scare it to get it to run away.
– But he didn’t, instead he walked 10-15 meters behind me and Elvis for this kilometer we had left before we got home.
Despite the fact that the wolf was much larger than his own dog, which weighs 40 kilos, Thomas Carlstedt soon realized that the wolf did not seem to be dangerous and therefore took out his phone to film the encounter.
– The first fear subsided quite quickly when I realized that it posed no threat, but the strange thing was that it followed, he says.
Will choose another path
Thomas Carlstedt, who has lived in Gisslarbo for 22 years, has seen wolves on a few occasions before, then from his car and from a great distance. But since this was his first close encounter, he is glad that, according to his friends who have seen the films, the wolf was quite young – and also lonely.
– I thought that maybe he was playful, or that it was a bitch who wanted to meet Elvis. But it would have been nicer if it had been a herd.
And although he doesn’t feel too worried about anything happening, and will still go out on his morning walks with the dog, Thomas Carlstedt will soon choose a path with a little more built-up.
– It has only happened once in 22 years, but maybe you will have a little more control, says Thomas Carlstedt.