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Young female wolf-hybrid

I am an animal advocate and rescuer. I have become aware of a young female wolf hybrid here in central Alabama that the owner had advertised for sale on a public adoption site. He has young children and she is not good with them. I am very concerned about who might contact him and try to buy her. Is there anyone on this message board with contacts or relationships with any wolf rescues or sanctuaries? I am trying to find a place for her where she will be safe in a natural setting. She is a gorgeous girl, but skittish and totally inappropriate for most households. Please PM – Thank you!

You might want to try contacting your state wildlife agency to find out if this wolf-hybrid is legal to own and/or sell in the the state.

Hybrids are not legal in all states and many states have restrictions on ownership.

It might be the kindest and safest thing for both the animal and people.

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I don’t know of anywhere in Alabama… this place is here in PA and has wolves and hybrids. I don’t know what their procedures are as far as taking in new animals. https://wolfsanctuarypa.org/

This is in PA too and they have wolf-dogs. Again, not sure how you get an animal in there. Many of theirs are government confiscations. https://tdscats.com/home/

Not legal in Michigan. We had a popularity burst with the hybrids back 20 years ago. A macho thing among guys, “I have a Wof dog!” No rescues back then. All the animals I knew about were bad news, just not made for pets. The 2 guys with them at work ended up putting them down because they got progressively more aggressive as they aged. Not accepting the people as “pack leader” anymore. They threatened and bit owners, family members. I don’t think any reached 5-6 years before being put down. Really smart, creative, in escaping confinement. Lots of bad bite incidents across the State from these crosses.

Gov’t people passed the law against breeding, selling or owning them. I believe law was part of the not owning wild/restricted animals laws. Some hybrids just should never happen.

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I agree! It’s a pity that greed and ego has encouraged such as this. I am contacting all the rescues and sanctuaries for the hybrids or wolves that I can. I have a special place in my heart for wolves as I think they get badly mistreated by government and hunters and in cases such as this. The owner understands all of this and knows this girl needs to be in a sanctuary. I used to have a friend on FB in Ohio or thereabouts that was a rescuer and very involved and she was very helpful in some other instances but not on FB any longer and have lost touch. Any help is appreciated. I just want her to be safe and in a good place.

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Contact Tia Torres at Villalobos Rescue in New Orleans. She has worked with Wolf and Hybrid rescues over the years. She might have some contacts that could help.

https://www.vrcpitbull.com/?fbclid=IwAR0MzodCjJHAK8BbT-xnuSPbYzzw5e3y--R24jhkXnOHo7DIDJssvK2OXwk Go to this page, and click “Contact Us” on the top right side of the page.

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There is also a place in Colorado that was featured on Rocky Mountain Vet. They take in hybrids and seem to specialize in those that were bred to be “pets” that didn’t work out.
Mission: Wolf | Education vs. Extinction

I would contact them to see if they would be willing to come and get her. There are also other wolf rescues in CO that you could try. Good luck.

My friend and her husband had to find homes for 2 or 3 wolf-hybrids when a close relative (BIL I believe) died. I think she found a sanctuary in Arizona…maybe it was Colorado?..that would take them. It took her awhile to find them a spot. She and her husband had to take care of them until then. One of them, she said, was quite scary and they were very careful when feeding them.

Susan

I would begin here.

There is a special place in hell for ppl who think wildlife are pets, a special place in that special place for those that breed wild animals for this purpose. Really.

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THANK YOU SHILOH!!! I have contacted them and they want to help! God bless and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I’ll update.

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I rescued two wolf hybrids, years ago. One was a year old adult female, the other a four month old puppy (wolf/malamute). Never had any aggressive issues with either one, even around cats and other dogs or humans.

Now, they were different from domesticated dog breeds. Something wild was still inherent, and I actually appreciated that about them.

Once in the dead of winter, at dusk, one of the ponies and a two year filly got out of the pasture and headed down a dirt road. I head out after them, and Ravenwolf (120 pounds of wolf dog) decided to accompany me. We get to a place in the road where there are two small houses, and Ravenwolf ducts into the driveway of one house and starts to sing. A man comes out, greets him, calls him Big Boy, and gives him treats. I wave, still in pursuit of errant pony and filly, and then Ravenwolf saunters back to the road to join me. The pony and filly found a lawn with grass and stopped to eat, and that wolf dog moved deliberately in front of them, calmly but with authority. I was able to get a halter and lead shank on the filly, and then the pony, while Ravenwolf just held the space.

He passed away at age 10. The female, Sierra, died at age 12. She was shier than he, but very affectionate, and had one of the best singing voices! I taught her to sing on command, and she would throw her head back and purse her lips and howl (quickly joined by Ravenwolf and the dogs). I used to call them sing fests.

Wolves like to travel, they like to move. Luckily Ravenwolf and Sierra lived on a good size farm that backed up on a private tree preserve of several hundred more acres. I let them go on their daily “walkabouts”, and clearly Ravenwolf added a neighbor to his daily travels. Ravenwolf ended up with his own couch to sleep on (as a puppy he ate part of it), while Sierra preferred her dog bed next to his couch.

I am no wolf-whisper. But Raven and Sierra taught me a lot and made me a better dog person I think.

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I rescued a hybrid puppy years ago as well and she was one of the best dogs ever. I had called a rescue looking for a large breed puppy to be a playmate for my Siberian Husky (recommended by vet due to issues) and they told me about some puppies that could not be brought into the rescue because they were hybrids, but said that I could go out to the owner’s house and see them.

We took in one of the pups and she was just the best. She was so smart and minded better than any other dog I’ve had. My vet loved her and one of the techs even rescued a sibling.

I’m so glad that you were able to find a rescue to help.

No, these guys shouldn’t be purposely bred to be pets, and I feel like many that end up with bad stories are due to the type of people that breed and buy them and the environment they raise them in.

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This reminded me of a time in my teens when I was mucking stalls at the barn I rode/worked at and all of a sudden I looked up and a canine was slinking toward me. Not aggressively, but no tail wag, reminded me of a cat walking up. I could immediately tell, though, it was just a dog. It was only about knee-high and I initially thought maybe a coyote. Before I had any time to react it was right there, just sniffing my pant legs. Suddenly the college-aged daughter of the neighbors’ came rushing in looking for her. Here, it was her wolf hybrid puppy. I think around 4-5 months old. She was friendly and hadn’t come in with any intent to harm me, just to check me out I guess, and I pet her but it was definitely different than interacting with a dog. You could pet her just fine, but she didn’t show any emotional response - positive or negative - to being pet. She went out to play with their dog after a minute. Super cool, but kind of unsettling. Definitely not something I’d want to mess around with. I think the girl went to school out west and was just home visiting and I have no idea what ever came of the pup. One of those things I will never forget, though.

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OP, any update?

Yeah. I found a sanctuary actually nearby willing to take her. But now the (idiot!) owners have decided to keep her and expand their fence and try to train her. They have 4 small children and a GSD she has already attacked. I warned them that if the wolf did anything it would cost her life but they decided I was too “pushy” so I backed out. You can’t fix stupid or people that are too selfish to do what is best for the animal.

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Oh dear lord…that poor animal. And when it is ends badly, they will cry and blame everyone but the ones who deserve blame - themselves.

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Hate this so.very.much.
Can you report them to zoning or something?

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Any government agency I reported them to would probably just euthanize Ava. That’s how people resolve animal problems - they die!

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:frowning:

I wonder if the people saw that you can breed and sell wolf hybrid puppies? And think they’re going to make a bonanza off of them?

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