© Oregon Cattleman's AssociationScooter, before and after the attack
A veterinarian expects both dogs to make full recoveries, according to the Oregon Cattleman's Association.
And the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said DNA analysis of samples from the injured dogs may help confirm the attacker was wolf.
On Tuesday, August 25, Buck and Chelsea Matthews found their dog Scooter on the porch of their home in rural Wallowa County with teeth marks on its neck.
"Scooter was laying by the front door when I headed out in the morning," Buck said in an Oregon Cattleman's Association press release on the incident. "I thought he was dead. He was laying on his side obviously injured and bleeding from his back and front legs."
The couple lives on a ranch an hour and a half from the nearest town.
They loaded the dog up and drove him to a veterinary office in Enterprise, Ore.
"It was pretty gruesome," Dr. Randy Greenshields of Double Arrow vet clinic said, according to the OCA press release. "Scooter had both front legs punctured with torn muscle and bruising on the back of his neck."
Several hours later, the Matthews realized a second dog, Tom, had been attacked, too.
"After looking closer, we saw he had lacerations behind his ear and hind legs and was bruised really bad on his belly, underside," Buck said.
The ODFW examined the dogs on August 26 and found multiple bite wounds on the neck and legs of the dogs, all "commonly observed attack points for wolves," according to an investigation report.
"ODFW examined both live dogs and found multiple bite marks indicating attack by large predator or domestic dog," according to the report. "The location and appearance of the bite wounds noted above are similar to those ODFW biologists have observed on other depredations by wolves."
ODFW said there hasn't been confirmed wolf activity in the area recently,a lthough the Wenaha pack had been in the area in February 2013. A wolf wearing a tracking collar that struck out on its own also traveled through the area.
Greenshields, the veterinarian who treated the dogs, suspects a wolf: there aren't other domestic dogs in the area, and the animal that attacked the dogs would have to be much larger than a coyote, he said.
The Matthews have now reported seeing what appeared to be a wolf in the area, the Cattleman's Association said.
"We've seen a wolf twice since the attack. Both times it was less than a mile from our house," Buck Matthews said.
Chelsea Matthews said the family is now taking extra precautions, both with their dogs and young children.
"We lock all the dogs up at night and the kids have to stay where I can see them," she said. "It's not worth the risk of me sending them out of sight knowing that there are wolves around."
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