Take a Walk on the Wild Side...
About the wolfdogs
We are currently home to a number of wolfdogs, and dogs with recent wolf ancestry. Each has their individual story, and their individual personality, but their uniqueness from each other (as well as from their dog relatives), is quite amazing and alluring.
We are currently working on getting a few of our more socially comfortable wolfdogs ready to go out in public as ambassadors, as well as adding more exercise and play yards for these quirky, intelligent, fun loving pups!
Read along to learn more about each one!
Akki
11 years old | Male | wolf/shepherd
Akki is Kato and Zenya's dad, and originally lived near Bakersfield with Kato. He and Kato found their way to our sanctuary in May of 2017, when their previous owner realized she wasn't able to give them the time and love that they were used to after having a child.
He is one of our most social wolfdogs, and enjoys coming along to adoption events and public outings, and saying hi to new people!
We've done a lot of training with him, from general manners to being reliable out in public, and he is truly a gentle giant who soaks up pets and neck scratches when he can get them!
Kato
4 Years old | male | wolf/shepherd
Kato is Akki's higher content son, also from MacFarland. He is a very mischievous and playful young man, but has a bit of a teenager 'tude at times! He is a complete lovebug and goofball to the people he gets to know, and is definitely one of the more social wolfdogs!
Zenya
4 Years old | Female | wolf/shepherd/husky/malamute
Zenya is one of our long-term boarding wolfdogs, and Akki's daughter, who came to us in November 2017. Her owner was referred to us by Akki & Kato's previous owner, and asked us if we could help. Her owner was forced to move to a county with very unfriendly wolfdog policies, and after going through MANY tough times with Zenya (who was her saving grace through it all), her owner could not bear to lose her companion, and sought refuge for Z. Zenya had been staying with another friend in the wolfdog community in Oregon, but with the winter snow coming, her enclosure was not expected to be adequate to keep her in, so her mom went up to get her, and we met her in Bakersfield to bring this girl to safety until her owner has a safe place and can be reunited with her love.
Kaia
3 Years Old | Female | wolf/shepherd
Kaia was networked to us by an amazing lady who was put into contact with us from Zenya's owner.
Kaia's original owner had passed away, and she did NOT get along with her new owner, who soon reciprocated the sentiments. Due to issues with him, as well as concerns about aggression with other female canines, the new owner's roommate (who was caring for her), contacted us and arranged a wolfy drop-off in Sacramento on our way back down from a trip to Oregon.
Kaia is a little shy, but does great with the other male wolfdogs she has been with, as well as the staff and volunteers at the rescue she has grown to love (and scent rub and nibble on!). She initially bonded with Akki’s son, Kato, who she lived with happily for many years, before we lost him to an unexpected and sudden cancer. After his passing, Kaia’s heartbroken howls could be heard echoing off the surrounding mountains nightly. A friend of ours with decades of wolfdog experience tried integrating Kaia into her pack, which seemed successful for quite some time until the semi-assertive young female in her 2-pack became a lot more assertive, and had a major altercation with Kaia. We brought her home, nursed her back to health, and then introduced her to Loki in an effort to heal the sadness of losing yet another pack. This pairing was successful, and the two live in comfortable harmony with each other. <3
Loki
7 YEars old | Male | Wolf/malamute
Loki is one of four wolfdogs we rescued from Newberry Springs in 2016. He is an old gentle soul, who came with ocular parasites which nearly made him blind and puzzled specialists for a short time. Fortunately, he was treated and cleared, but does require continued care. He was originally bonded with his brother and mother, Sascha (both who passed away over the years after each’s separate battles with cancer), but had a falling out with his brother, and entered a new pack with his cousin Sheena and an old Bohemian Shepherd named King, both whom we have sadly lost after many years together. After the heartbreak of losing yet another pack, he has been introduced and successfully packed up with our black phase female, Kaia, who was also mourning the loss of her packmate, Kato, to cancer. <3
On owning a wolfdog:
Because wolfdogs ARE NOT pets, and a number have come to us due to people not understanding that, our wolfdogs are not up for adoption. Wolfdogs require safe and spacious containment - they are quite active, athletic and smart: they will easily escape a 6 foot fence, or dig out of any improperly reinforced containment in a matter of seconds. Wolfdogs do not necessarily potty-train or housebreak well; even with consistent training at an early age, there are sometimes wild instincts that just can not be domesticated. They can and will jump on and pillage countertops and surfaces with no hesitation, and often a handler risks getting bit trying to retrieve a stolen object from a playful but possessive wolfdog.
While they are truly beautiful, and a wonder to be around in the proper environment, they are not pets, and we highly discourage anyone from attempting to own a wolfdog. A majority of young wolfdogs don't make it to adulthood due to being killed during escaping, or in shelters because their wolfy traits ended up being a nuisance or dangerous to the unprepared owner, and shelters have no qualifications and little resources regarding wolfdogs. Most sanctuaries are extremely selective about only taking high content wolfdogs and as most wolfdogs (or just dogs) are sadly misrepresented as a higher content than they are (if any), they are passed over and suffer the consequences.