Josh Trautman talks about using a 5-gallon bucket to fight off the canine he said attacked him April 9, 2023, in the Gold Hill area.

GOLD HILL — Oregon wildlife officials said Wednesday, April 19, that a man attacked last week in the woods above Foley Lane outside Gold Hill did not encounter a wolf.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials announced that DNA evidence from the scene was analyzed by a forensics lab and no wolf DNA was detected.

Gold Hill resident Josh Trautman, 40, reported to police and posted on social media April 9 that he was attacked by what he believed was a wolf while he was out with three other family members hunting for morel mushrooms in the Kane Creek area near Gold Hill.

“ODFW takes seriously any report of a wild animal attack. On April 11, ODFW was made aware of the victim’s Facebook post and began our standard protocol investigating in cooperation with law enforcement. We interviewed the victim and collected his shirt and mushroom bucket from the animal attack,” ODFW officials said in the statement.

“The shirt and swabs from the bucket were sent to a forensics lab for DNA testing. The lab detected the DNA profile of a male domestic dog on multiple samples collected from bite marks on the shirt and on swabs from the bucket the victim used to defend himself. No DNA consistent with originating from a wolf was detected.”

Trautman said he was in disbelief after receiving the results from ODFW.

Trautman voiced frustration that the agency said the animal was not a wolf “but they couldn’t tell me what kind of dog it was.”

“I felt like people can do a simple home DNA test on a dog and say, ‘What is my dog exactly?’ and they can tell you every single strain of every type of dog that’s in that one dog. So why can’t they tell me what tried to kill me?” Trautman said.

Trautman said he worries for neighbors because the animal that attacked him remains at-large. He said neighbors have said they installed trail cameras to try and determine what types of animals might be present in the area of the attack.

“There could very well be a wild pack of dogs up there for all we know. We’ve seen a few with no collars. Nothing like the one that attacked me yet though, that’s for sure,” he added.

“The main thing was I wasn’t trying to expose myself to being berated on social media or trying to bash anyone else. I put it out as a warning so nobody else gets hurt. They don’t know what it is, but whatever it is it was able to do some serious damage.”

Following the attack, Trautman described the animal as “the biggest wolf I’ve ever seen.”

Trautman fought the animal off by hitting it with a 5-gallon plastic bucket, which he was using to collect morel mushrooms. Family members drove a badly injured Trautman to meet a Mercy Flights ambulance on the side of Blackwell Road.

Trautman endured a more than three-hour surgery to repair damage to his left arm and was given a series of rabies shots and antibiotics. After regaining consciousness, he posted to social media to warn his neighbors to use caution.

Gold Hill man says he’s not crying wolf after attack