One day, residents of a Los Angeles suburb spotted a dog wandering around the streets on his own. The dog was severely underweight, infected with parasites, and had mange. He had a collar around his neck, leading residents to believe he had come from an abusive home. The kindhearted residents called their local shelter, and they came to pick the dog up.
When the animal got to the shelter, they discovered he was no ordinary dog—he was a wolf-dog hybrid.
Wolf-dogs are classified as wild animals, and because of that, the shelter wasn’t allowed to keep him. They had to either find a new home for him or put him down. They quickly called around, trying to find the right home for this special pup. Finally, W.O.L.F. Sanctuary in Colorado said they would take him in.
W.O.L.F. provides a home to wolves and wolf-dogs who wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild.
They offer plenty of space for the animals to run around, and they also treat animals who are hurt or sick. It was the perfect place for the lonely wolf-dog hybrid to call home.
W.O.L.F. brought the wolf-dog to their sanctuary. Soon after he arrived, they held a naming contest, and the winning entry was Castiel. The wolf-dog had a name and a safe place to stay. But he was still very skittish, and he was scared of everyone and everything.
The first few days Castiel was at W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, he stayed in one corner of the infirmary.
After a lot of coaxing, he allowed the workers to bathe and shave him, but after that he returned to his corner and refused to move. The workers let him take his time getting acclimated, and they sat with him and pet him, showing him that he was in a safe place now.
Finally, Castiel started to leave his corner, and he started interacting more with the workers. He began eating more, and his fur started to grow back. A few weeks after he arrived at the sanctuary, he looked like a whole new wolf-dog!
Once Castiel was comfortable and healthy, the workers brought him into the sanctuary itself with the rest of the wolves and wolf-dogs.
In the beginning, he would watch the other animals, but he didn’t approach them. Still, the workers were happy that he was taking an interest in the other wolves—this showed them that he wanted to be social.
When they felt Castiel was ready to start socializing, they began introducing him to female wolves. He went on “dates” with a few different wolves, but none of them were quite right. Then, they introduced him to an outgoing female wolf-dog named Tenali.
Tenali was excited to meet Castiel—she jumped on him and licked him. Shy Castiel was a bit nervous at first, but after a few days, he warmed up to her. Now, the couple is as happy as can be!
Today, Tenali and Castiel’s bond is still strong, and they spend most of their time together. Castiel had a rough start to life, but thanks to the W.O.L.F. Sanctuary’s patience and care, he’s now happy and healthy. If you’d like to help W.O.L.F. Sanctuary save more animals like Castiel, consider donating to their organization.
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