JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Washington County Johnson City Animal Shelter took in 13 wolf hybrids after police discovered them at a home during an investigation late last month.
Tammy Davis, the executive director of the shelter, told News Channel 11 that about half the hybrids, who were found malnourished and in poor conditions, have been taken in as rescues or placed in sanctuaries equipped to care for them.
“We received a phone call (Aug. 24) to remove 13 wolf hybrids from a home in Johnson City because they were not being cared for,” Davis said.
Due to the investigation being ongoing, Davis could not provide details on exactly where the wolf hybrids were found or who owned them. She did confirm that animal cruelty charges have been filed, though.
“The dogs were not being properly taken care of,” Davis said. “Wolf hybrids are not domestic dogs. They have different needs, different social needs, different dietary needs. Those needs were not being met so the dogs were removed for their safety.”
According to Davis, the hybrids cannot be raised like typical dogs due to the differences in personality and independence of wolves from domesticated dogs.
“There’s going to be a lot of differences between a domestic dog and a wolf hybrid,” Davis said. “Domestic dogs have been domesticated to depend on humans to take care of them. Wolves, of course, they are used to, they have this sense of taking care of themselves. So when you breed a wolf with a domestic dog, you could have a variety of personalities in the same litter of puppies.”
The hybrids appear to be the result of wolves being bred with other wolf-like dog breeds for profit.
“We had done some DNA tests, [the breeder] had also done DNA tests,” Davis said. “We do know that some of the dogs are at least 67% wolf. They were bred with malamutes, huskies, and German Shepherds is what we think. We did not DNA test all the dogs, but that is the most common thing that they are bred with.”
The shelter’s first step after acquiring the hybrids was to vaccinate them. One of them had a leg injury that the shelter’s veterinarians were able to care for.
In the long term, the shelter hopes to relocate the animals to rescues for wolf hybrids.
“These dogs will not be able to be adopted out to the community,” Davis said. “They are not going to be available for adoption. We are currently working to find approved wolf hybrid sanctuaries so that the wolves can go there and they can live in an environment that they are meant to live in and will thrive in.”
As of Monday, six of the hybrids had been placed in rescues or sanctuaries. However, Davis said finding places for the remaining hybrids is difficult, and shelter staff are looking for places in the country that could take them.
Davis told News Channel 11 that the community stepped up to help the shelter care for the hybrids in the meantime. The dogs require a very high-protein diet beyond what typical dog food provides.
“We’ve actually had lots of hunters that had deer meat and some things like that that were donated to us so that we could gradually put the weight back on the dogs that they need and to give them the extra protein,” Davis said. “So we appreciate the community’s help with that.”
