Sunset was an orange blush on the horizon over the Wyoming Range and beans simmered in Cookie’s cauldron. It had been a tough day on the trail, and the tuckered cowboys were in no mood for foolishness.

Powder River Pete waved a piece of paper in the wan firelight and said, “Lookee here what I got in the mail t’other day. Its a flyer tellin’ me they wanna sell me a new breed of cow that don’t need to eat.”

Pete passed the paper around to his confreres. “Says here them cows’ll get fat on a Walmart parkin’ lot. Says they’ll eat nothin’ but rocks an’ rattlesnakes an’ still pack on weight. Guaran-damn-teed!”

“What’s the price on them cows?” asked Rawhide Ricky from Rawlins. “They cain’t come cheap.”

“It don’t say.” Pete appeared puzzled. “I guess yer s’posed to just trust ‘em an’ throw open yer wallet.”

Cookie gave the frijoles a stir and advised, “Ya gotta be careful readin’ what comes in the mail these days. There’s a lotta bullshit artists out there. It’s election season after all.”

“No kiddin’,” added Doc from Dayton, “I got a mailer from some yokels back east tellin’ me iff’n I bought their horse sight-unseen, or voted fer their candidate, I cain’t remember which, I wouldn’t regret it. They promised me that the critter would crap gold nuggets an’ make me a rich man.”

Low grumbles circled the ol’ campfire as the broncpeelers cussed anything that came from “back east”.

The Kaycee Kid brandished his spankin’ new smartfone and said, “It ain’t just the mail, pards. I got a text from some PAC in Ohio or somewheres, sayin’ my county commissioner was really an Iranian spy sent by the Ayatollah to harvest our precious body fluids.”

Gus from Granger gasped and said, “Hell, I know your commissioner. He’s my cousin an’ a good ol boy. He ain’t never been outside o’ Sweetwater County. What the hell does a gomer from Ohio know about Wyoming anyhow?”

This prompted Joe the Wranger to pull a glossy door-hanger from his chap pocket. “Some asshole left this on the bunkhouse door. It says that Wyoming is fixin’ to be taken over by baby-eatin’ Bolshevik bombthrowers, an’ if we wanna save our Wyoming Values, we gotta vote fer these Freedom Caucus knuckleheads that came here from back east.”

Grumbling intensified around the ol’ campfire. The cussin’ ratcheted up and shootin’ irons were patted. A gruff voice or two growled, “Somebody oughta do somethin’ about this.”

Before the campfire rhetoric got too western, Cookie ambled up and waved his spoon at the angry throng.

“Y’all are actin’ like scared schoolkids,” he said, “whinin’ an’ carryin’ on like ya just heard a story ‘bout boogiemen. Wanna know why yer snifflin’ an’ cryin’ over them there messages from back east?”

Wrinkly eyes were raised, as if to say, “Why’s that, Cookie?”

“Cuz y’all let yer bullshit detectors get rusty, that’s why! Ya ain’t kept ‘em clean an’ oiled so they work when the lies start a’flyin’.”

Cookie pointed his accusing spoon at each cowboy. It’s up to you bastids to get ‘em workin’ again, so ya don’t go cryin’ to momma every time someone flings bullshit yer way.”

Downcast eyes regarded toes of boots in the campfire light.

Cookie concluded, “Next time some dude from Detroit tells ya that “night is really day” or “tofu taste just like t-bone”, use yer God-given bullshit detector an’ consider the source. If something walks like a duck, quacks like a duck an’ smells like a duck, it sure as hell ain’t a horse. Think fer yerselves, dammit. Now, who wants coffee?”

Rod Miller can be reached at: RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com

The Wyoming Highway Patrol proudly announces the retirement of K-9 Reno, a Labrador Retriever who served faithfully for four years. Beginning her career with the WHP in 2021, K-9 Reno was assigned to Troop A in Laramie County.

K-9 Reno, a single-purpose drug detection canine, was purchased with 100% Federal HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) funds. She was the first K-9 in Wyoming, and one of the first in the country, to be trained and certified on fentanyl.

During her career, K-9 Reno completed over 648 hours of training. She was deployed 234 times and was responsible for the seizure of:

• 3,625 pounds of marijuana
• 24 1/2 pounds of fentanyl
• 13 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine
• 29 grams of cocaine
• 41 grams of heroin
• 1 pound of other types of drugs, including illicit pharmaceuticals
• $25,265 of drug proceeds
• 5 firearms

Trooper JT Dellos, K-9 Reno’s handler, praised her contributions saying K-9 Reno played an integral role in apprehending many high-level criminals engaged in trafficking dangerous drugs into our communities. She benefitted the citizens and visitors of Wyoming due to her significant contributions.

K-9 Reno’s work included several notable deployments. On Feb. 12, 2022, K-9 Reno participated in an “open air sniff” at the Red Lion Hotel, leading to the arrest of Timothy J. Pearson for felony possession of 36 pounds of marijuana. Reno’s alert was helped in discovering the drugs, packaged in vacuum-sealed bags in the trunk of Pearson’s vehicle.

“I initiated a free air sniff around a motor vehicle with my narcotic odor detector K-9, Reno. I previously observed the black-in-color sedan, bearing Florida registration on Interstate 80, traveling eastbound. I ultimately discovered the vehicle in the parking lot of the Red Lion Hotel, Cheyenne, Wyoming. After discovering the unoccupied vehicle, I deployed Reno around the exterior of the vehicle. Reno alerted to the presence of one of the four odors she is trained to detect,” the probable cause statement reads.

In a very busy day on Oct. 18, 2023, K-9 Reno was there for a traffic stop on Ames Avenue. Allan Jericho Housman and Danielle Alyssa Smith were charged with possession of methamphetamine after Reno alerted to their vehicle. Troopers found a small metal container with 40 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

A booking sheet states Smith pleaded with the trooper to let them go since they lived “just up there.” The trooper became suspicious of criminal activity, which led to K-9 Reno being deployed on their vehicle. After an alert by Reno, troopers searched the vehicle and found a small metal container with 40 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

Additionally, K-9 Reno played a role in another traffic stop on Interstate 80. Troopers discovered 13.7 pounds of suspected marijuana, 18 pounds of suspected THC wax, and other controlled substances in a vehicle driven by Brandon Tyler Espe and Curtis Barnes. Reno’s alert provided the probable cause needed for the search and subsequent arrests.

The trooper reported smelling marijuana in their vehicle after approaching to ask Espe, the driver, for his license. Espe reportedly did not have his license, instead producing a state identification card. Espe joined the trooper in the front of the patrol vehicle. The trooper deployed K-9 Reno, who alerted to the presence of drugs. Searching the vehicle, the trooper reportedly found 6,230 grams, or 13.7 pounds, of suspected marijuana; 8,190 grams, or 18 pounds, of suspected THC wax; 980 grams, or 2.16 pounds, of suspected THC liquid; 7 grams of suspected methamphetamine; and less than 1 gram of suspected cocaine.

K-9 Reno was known for her skills and dedication. She loved coming to work and drew crowds with her sweet face and joyful presence. Her sweet face and joyful presence drew a crowd anywhere she went, and she loved showing off her skills at public events and in classrooms the announcment states.

The WHP expressed gratitude for K-9 Reno’s service. “The WHP is grateful for the dedicated service of K-9 Reno to the citizens and visitors of Wyoming, and wishes her a well-deserved retirement full of tennis balls and laying in the sun.”

Getting video of a grizzly mother and cub fighting over food, practically within arm’s reach, seemed cool enough to share on social media for a Cody man, but he didn’t expect it to catch fire.

“It was funny. It was just a typical day at work for me. I had no idea it was going to blow up like that,” Ryan Aune told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday afternoon.

It’s easy to see why it did. From inside the cab of his truck, Aune had his camera running when the sow and cub burst through the underbrush next to the road, each with their jaws clamped tight on some sort of carcass. They were fighting over control of the food even while on the move. Another cub runs alongside them.

Both bears are vocalizing while trying to get the meat from the other, an example that while grizzly mommas take good care of their cubs, they don’t always share. And it’s a lesson for the cub that as an apex predator, it takes what it needs.

The video, which he posted Wednesday, already had more than 1.2 million views on Facebook by Thursday afternoon.

“That’s what it’s like living in Wyoming. What you think is normal is insane to other people,” said Aune, who owns Wyoming Wings & Waters guide service.

Reaction to the video has been mostly positive, although there have been some peanut gallery comments, he said.

“Somebody commented something like, ‘Great filming, said no one, ever.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Sure, you try being right next to grizzlies fighting and not flinch,” Aune said.

He took the video at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday alongside the highway between Cub Creek and Lake Butte in Yellowstone National Park, as he was on his way to meet a fishing client.

It wasn’t his first close encounter with grizzlies. In 2019, Aune shot and killed a grizzly with birdshot from just a few feet away when it charged him near the Clarks Fork River.

Wildlife agents investigated the shooting and cleared it as a case legitimate self-defense, but Aune said the experience still made him sad.

‘I Could Feel Every Little Bit Of It’

Aune frequently drives into Yellowstone through the East Gate early in morning, so he’s used to seeing grizzlies and other wildlife along the way.

When he spotted some grizzlies coming out of the cover right next to the highway, he decided it was worth pulling over and maybe get some video.

“It was like, ‘Oh, there’s bears, it looks like they’re playing. No, wait, they’re fighting over something,’” he said.

By time he his rig pulled over and he rolled down his window to shoot video on his smartphone, the grizzlies had retreated into the trees and brush. But he started recording anyway, just in case.

“All of the sudden, there comes momma grizzly out of the trees, straight at me,” Aune said.

And the cubs were right with her. One cub just seemed to be following along.

The other was tussling violently with its mother over a scrap of food.

Exactly what it was they were fighting over, Aune isn’t sure.

“I think it was a marmot, but I’m not sure. I was more focused on safety at that point,” he said.

The mother grizzly and cub didn’t appear to be trying to hurt each other, but each was tugging mightily at the tasty treat, not wanting the other to get it.

They were growling and huffing ferociously.

The trio of bears was maybe 15 feet away from his open window.

“I could feel the sound in my body. I could feel every bit of it,” Aune said.

The bears were completely caught up in what they were doing and didn’t seem to notice Aune or his truck.

“I’ve got a 2022 F-350, which is very noticeable,” he said.

After a few seconds of mighty struggle, the video ends with the cub claiming the prize and running back into the cover, with its mother and sibling close behind.

After viewing the video, Wyoming Game and Fish Large Carnivore Specialist Dan Thompson said it appeared to be a typical case of grizzlies struggling over who got the last bite.

But whether the cub ultimately prevailed remains unknown, he told Cowboy State Daily.

“It looks to me like they’re having a tussle over the last scrap of food at the table, and junior won … for now,” he said.

2019 Encounter Ending In Shooting

Aune said that Wednesday’s encounter gave him “flashbacks” to nearly being mauled in 2019.

He and his father were bird hunting along the Clarks Fork River one November day.

“We had just gotten finished burying a great bird dog, and we were just trying to make a bummer of a day into a good day by going hunting in that dog’s honor,” he said.

Aune was in what he described as a “tunnel of trees” near the river when he heard his father yell, “grizzly!”

He heard some thrashing, and a grizzly cub appeared out of the cover in front of him. He shouted at it, and the cub turned to run toward the river.

“I turned to my left, and there was momma grizzly not about 10 feet from me,” he said. “I had nowhere to go, and I just started shooting.”

His semiautomatic Berretta 12-gauge was loaded with No. 6 birdshot. Those are small pellets made to knock upland gamebirds out of the air, not to take down angry grizzlies.

But at near point-blank range, the pattern was so bunched up that each blast hit almost like single projectile.

The bear was standing when Aune opened fire, and the first two shots hit it in the upper chest and neck area.

The bear dropped to all fours and tried to charge, but the third blast “went right through the skull” and instantly killed it, Aune said.

He left the bear’s carcass and the empty shotgun shell hulls right where they fell so game agents could investigate the scene.

It’s illegal to shoot a grizzly in the Lower 48, unless it’s in self-defense. Investigators must be called to the scene as soon as possible.

Though he was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the bear appeared to have already been in poor bodily condition, Aune said killing the grizzly weighed heavily on him.

He was particularly saddened by orphaning the cub.

“It took me a while to get over that,” he said.

He hopes that any future encounters with grizzlies will involve photos and video, not gunfire.

“I don’t wish that feeling on anyone. What you feel like when you have to kill something to save your own life,” he said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.