Pet project to rescue wolfdog hybrids
An animal shelter outside Calgary is providing sanctuary to a misunderstood and often mistreated canine.
It’s a dog’s life for the 40 or so residents of Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, a 64ha not-for-profit animal shelter at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. Or is it a wolf’s life? The answer to that question comes down to content, guide Arilyn tells me. Grizz, Quinn and Aspen – three beautiful wolfdogs with thick, cream-coloured coats – approach cautiously from behind a grove of speckled aspen trees, leaving delicate pawprints in the snow.
The wolfdogs watch as Arilyn reaches into a bucket and pulls out slabs of raw meat. Grizz holds his bushy tail in the air, and rests his neck on Quinn’s back in a display of dominance. “He’s the boss,” says Arilyn. “But he’s also a sweetie. Every wolfdog is different.”
As the name suggests, a wolfdog is a hybrid between a wolf and dog. High-content wolfdogs have more wolf DNA than dog, and are often not far removed from the wild wolves still legally hunted for sport in Canada. Low-content wolfdogs are more dog than wolf, and better candidates for domestication. Humans are the content creators and, sadly for the wolfdogs, we’ve created a bit of a mess.
North American wolfdogs first popped up in the 1940s, when people started experimenting with cross-breeding domestic dogs with wolves captured for the fur trade. They soon became popular as pets, despite having a temperament often unsuited to the task. That’s because wolves and dogs are very different animals. Wolves hunt prey, whereas dogs scavenge or wait to be fed. Dogs live happily with humans and obey commands, but good luck trying to teach a wolf to play, fetch or even contain it to a backyard. Wolves fear humans, but dogs depend on them. In short, dogs make great pets, wolves do not.
As a consequence, wolfdogs are stuck in a kind of netherworld, not “doggy” enough for the family home, not wolf enough to survive alone in the wild. In many states in North America owning them is illegal. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, the exotic pet trade flourishes, and puppies sell for up to $5000. Unscrupulous breeders hoard wolfdogs in overcrowded conditions, and owners often suffer buyers’ remorse once they realise how difficult, and sometimes dangerous, they are. Many are abused, abandoned or put down. According to Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, about 90 per cent are euthanised by the age of two. The lucky ones end up here, where they not only live in safety, but act as ambassadors to educate people about their plight.
For visitors, the sanctuary offers a rare chance to meet wolfdogs of all content levels and see them in the closest thing to a natural setting they’ll ever have. A guided, interactive tour takes me into the spacious outdoors enclosures and among the packs, where I can have a go at handfeeding (if the wolfdogs are willing), while the excellent giftshop is a warm retreat from the cold, and raises much-needed money to keep the sanctuary running.
Volunteers such as Arilyn form an intimate connection with all the wolfdogs, and get to know the vast spectrum of personalities and behaviours. Low-content animals can be offered out for adoption, if the right home is found (owning a wolfdog is legal in Alberta). Arilyn says they can make great pets, but people need to understand how to care for them. “They are often misunderstood, which leads to them getting abandoned. We want to drive home the message around responsible wolfdog ownership.” I’m happy just visiting. My tour wraps up as Grizz, Quinn and Aspen finish the last of their meat, turn and slink slowly away, weaving between the frosty tree trunks. Their coats are the same colour as the flat, overcast sky. They disappear into it.
In the know
Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary is 40 minutes by road northwest of Calgary. Introductory tours (30 minutes with access to the Sanctuary Walk) are $C41 ($46) a person; interactive tours (45-60 minutes) $C69 a person.
Ricky French was a guest of Destination Canada and Tourism Calgary.
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