I'm just really excited. I've researched them for over a decade, handled and worked with wolfdogs and pure wolves in rescues, and I've lived with a few low-contents (almost all dog, but with a little bit of wolf) who mean the world to me.
At last, I'm finally getting my first high-content. So happy. <3
I remembers you saying you worked at a rescue center, didnt know that included full on wolves
How did you get into it btw?
There's only one rescue centre around here i think and thats for birds of prey which i also love, dont have the means or time to get there at the minute though.
Yep, the rescue had two wolves that were believed to be pure, or at least very high content and nearly pure.
They were rescued from a puppy mill which bred (and heavily inbred) them to sell the puppies as exotic pets - and if the pups did not sell, they would grow them up and butcher them to sell their hides instead; because a wolf pelt is more valuable than a shy, fearful, horribly under-socialized adult wolf.
Sadly, due to poor breeding, they both passed away at around eight and ten years old due to critical heart conditions. Prior to that, they were the ambassadors of the rescue and helped teach many people about the real facts of wolves and wolfdogs, debunking myths and other fiction.
I actually had no idea there was a rescue until I ran into them one day in Old Sacramento - and then again, and again, and a few times in the Roseville flea market at Denios, during their educational fundraiser events. They liked that I had been doing so much reading about them and basically just let me help out.
I got to help answer questions from the audience, handle the wolfdogs when people wanted to pet them or give them treats, take them on breaks to relieve themselves and so on.
This is Comanche - one of the most intense and amazing creatures I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
He is nice
That backstory is pretty sickening though, arent they any laws against that kind of thing?
I'd imagine the pelt thing would obviously be illegal, at least i think so in some states (im in the UK so i havent got a clue really), but i hear a lot of stories about real bad inbreeding going on
In California, it is illegal to own a pure wolf or F1 wolfdog descending from a pure wolf parent (but two 98% wolfdogs bred together? That's fine. Laws...) But, if the animals were humanely euthanized, I don't think it's really illegal to do what you will with the remains.
There's also the horrible fact that animals are, well, animals. Law enforcement really doesn't put much effort into making sure they are properly cared for, and the worst punishment is usually a small fine and a couple months in county jail if you're found guilty of severe neglect or abuse, such as resulting in animal death.
I've fought tooth and nail before trying to get Animal Control, the local Police/Sheriff Department and anywhere else I Could think of, to go do a wellness check on mistreated animals. Even if you manage to get them to send an agent out (which is rare), they won't really do anything.
Here are some low/no-content puppies being sold as "98% wolf cubs" (that are actually malamute shepherd mixes). Their starving conditions were blamed on "summer coat", and the breeder insists on feeding them cat food and vaccinating them for feline parvovirus - because "wolves are not canines, they are related to lions and hyenas."
And apparently that's perfectly okay here, because the cops won't do a thing against it.
Holy **** , how can someone as brain dead as that even get in the position to own animals?!
There are some scum out there fair play, and that breeder is still going?
We have the RSPCA over here but they dont do a lot of good either, according to recent news stories they put down most of what they "rescued" even with healthy animals. I dont think people will ever get out of the mentality that people arent the only living things. Not sure if its still correct, but some of the laws over here i think pretty much said that invertebrates arent considered alive.
BTW thanks for posting that tumblr link below about the wolfdogs, thats really opened my eyes to the whole low content/high content thing.
I contacted the ASPCA and they said it wasn't in their "jurisdiction" so they couldn't, or wouldn't do anything, and advised me to contact Animal Control again. No luck.
Yes, that breeder is still selling their (now juvenile) puppies, for $2500 - recently dropped to $1500 because the pups are almost grown. Their website is "washowolfies.com".
No problem about the tumblr link. All of those websites are very accurate, educational tools. If you are on facebook, they have some groups there where you can actively talk to experienced wolfdog owners, discuss them, have questions answered, get advice and so on.
Thanks, will take a gander
And thats just ****** , i mean that photo there is of obvious neglect, i dont understand these animal welfare charities, they seem to focus on the least important things. Over here in the UK there was a couple who "infiltrated" exotic pet shows with hidden camera's. All the animals on display were captive bred, healthy, and in small boxes because they were for transport to and from the show. So they made a video about how all exotics keepers are cruel and evil and how their pets stay in sealed tiny boxes, when its no different than taking a cat to the vets in a pet carrier. I ended up getting banned from their facebook groups just for asking where they go that information and for telling them what was actually happening to the animals.
But thats really sucky though, dont suppose there's nothing like a petition or anything to get them investigated?
How did you get the original pups out of there?
I publicized it as much as possible, and even reported it to our local news groups, but they never paid any attention.
And, those puppies never did get out of there - they are the juveniles still being sold. You can see them on the website, older but still there. I only know of one that was sold, so who knows where he is now.
Though, I never tire of your wolf gifs. Please post more for me to collect.
Those two were all i had, got a new laptop and all my old gif library is all up in my unplugged computer. But you reminded me of my severe lack of wolf gifs so i just got some more
That still sucks though, i'll see if i can post a link about it on the pet forums im on, occasionally they seem to know what to do, although i havent really been on the mammal sections much .
At least there are rescue centers countering those ******** i suppose.
And here he is in the muddy cage he was kept in before he was taken in by the rescue, living in his own urine and feces. Normally, wolf puppies have erect ears from a very young age, but he had a calcium deficiency from inadequate nutrition which is suspected to have been the reason they had failed to stand up.
Do you have any pictures? I only ask because the vast, vast majority of "wolfdogs" are actually pure dogs. There are exceptions though, so I genuinely am curious, and I could tell you if that was the case or not.
Just for instance, here is my "mid content" who was supposed to be nearly half wolf - but he is basically just an overgrown pure Siberian Husky, no notable wolf traits whatsoever.
His breeders either honestly didn't know, or were just being intentionally dishonest. I would have gotten him even if they had just called him a husky mix, so I wish they hadn't misrepresented him as something he wasn't.
I don't have any pics on me right now (they're in an old album at my mom's), but I can assure you it was a true wolf hybrid.
Solid colored nose, correct color eyes, correct stance and build, doesn't have the curly tail associated with most non-wolf "wolfdogs".
I have no clue when I could get the pics for you. She doesn't have a scanner so I'd have to get them probably on my next trip up there which isn't until July.
None of that really means much, to be perfectly honest. Plenty of pure dogs and low/no-contents can and do look very wolf-like - with gold eyes, straight tails, solid black noses and so on. Just in case you're ever curious, you could check out some websites about it here:
A black wolf turns silver and then pure white as it grows. Here's the great-grandmother of my future pup - a mature "black phase" who was born solid black.
Wolfdog, technically. Still about 15 - 20% dog, but mostly wolf.
I belong to several wolfdog communities and there are surprisingly quite a few people who are privileged enough to do the same, with all content levels. It's amazing to be able to see so many, learn about them, share experiences and so on. Just for example, here is a very rare pure blooded Arctic from Wolves USA - grandfather of my pup's mother-to-be.