Having a wolf as a pet seems like a cool idea.
That’s what some people who adopt wolfdogs think until they realize that they’re essentially adopting a wild animal.
Some people don’t actually realize what it takes to care for such a large energetic animal. So, they end up abandoning their dogs.
Yuki is a 120-pound wolfdog that is 87.5 percent gray wolf, 8.6 percent Siberian Husky, and 3.9 percent German Shepherd.
His owner left him at a kill shelter.
Thankfully, the Shy Wolf Sanctuary heard about Yuki and saved his life.
“We rescued him from a failed house pet situation. Someone purchased him from a breeder and realized he was too much to handle. They dumped him at a kill shelter at 8 months old. We stepped in and provided a home for him and he has been with us ever since,“ said Brittany Allen, a staff member at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary.
Yuki is one of the highest content wolfdogs at the sanctuary.
“Yuki came to us in 2008. He was in reasonably good health compared to a lot of the animals that come to us and had a very outgoing personality initially,” a member of the Shy Wolf Sanctuary said.
“We even considered him for ambassadorship at one point. Shortly after arriving at Shy Wolf Sanctuary Yuki managed to catch a leg on a palmetto and opened up a wound on his right rear knee. The wound ended up taking a total of 5 surgeries to finally repair and in that time Yuki became cage aggressive.”
But many of Yuki’s photos were shared on social media and now he brings awareness for other wolfdogs, their plight, and the sanctuary that protects them.
One of Yuki’s handlers says that he is very particular about who he allows into his enclosure.
He has a small group of women that he trusts which are jokingly referred to as his “harem.” Yuki’s wild demeanor is precisely why wolfdogs are considered unadoptable by domestic animal services.
“They definitely are creatures that demand respect. It would be a much different encounter in the wild than what I do with these guys. The animals I work with have never been in the wild and never will be, so they are more socialized,” said Allen.
“We show off their adorable moments in the hope of helping people identify with them at least and maybe change their fear response into a healthy respect through education. And also giving an animal a chance at a decent life when otherwise they would be euthanized,”
The Shy Wolf Sanctuary is often the final chance wolfdogs have at life when they are abandoned by owners or are unable to survive in the wild. You can learn more about the Shy Wolf Sanctuary and what they do at shywolfsanctuary.org.
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