Tootsie, state animal of South Dakota
My great uncle, Fred Borsch, was given a coyote pup by Ollie Wiswell who found Tootsie near Custer Peak in 1947. Fred raised Tootsie in Galena, South Dakota, a mining ghost town. Tootsie was named official South Dakota coyote during the Days of 76 in 1947. Fred took Tootsie into town often, even to ride in parades. She died in 1959 following surgery for a tumor.
The best known photo of Tootsie, howling above Galena behind Fred's house.
Tootsie and Fred in Deadwood parade, 1914 Cadillac
Photo of Fred Borsch and Tootsie taken by Les Blacklock
Tootsie as a pup, with basketball
Tootsie's discoverer, Ollie Wiswell
I seldom see coyotes in the Black Hills nowadays. I'm not sure how frequent
they were back then.
Charlie, a modern day coyote story in Wyoming