'Fresh start:' Warwick wolf dogs start their new life in Ohio in the '401 Run'

A pair of apparent wolf dogs from Warwick are starting their new lives in Ohio with new names.

Bella and Libby, now Willow and Wile E. Coyote, arrived at the Red Riding Hood Rescue Project late Thursday night and were moved into their newly built "401 Run" Friday morning, according to Susan Vogt, co-founder and board president of the wolf-dog rescue.

"We hope people understand" the name change, Vogt said. "We want to give them a fresh start."

More: From on the run to the '401 Run': Ohio sanctuary readies to receive Warwick wolf dogs

Wolf dog pair caused a stir in Warwick

The dogs formerly known as Bella and Libby created a stir in Rhode Island last month when they were spotted roaming around Warwick. They were initially believed to be black coyotes, but their owner told officials they were wolf hybrids, which are illegal in Rhode Island.

The dogs, about six months old, were captured and kept at the Warwick Animal Shelter until the wolf-dog sanctuary could build a new pen and bring them to Ohio. Hopkinton, Massachusetts resident Alex Clarke and his girlfriend, Danielle Verrier, of Coventry, drove them the 830 miles in a rented van.

Volunteers at the Ohio sanctuary built the 401 Run with eight-foot tall fencing and limestone rock dig guards to keep the dogs from escaping, but eight people were keeping an eye on the dogs Friday morning as they settled into their new surroundings, Vogt said.

More: Mistaken for coyotes in Warwick, turns out Bella and Libby were puppies - the domestic kind

"They're escape artists, so we're doubling up on everything," Vogt said. "One of them in particular (Wile E. Coyote) is a Houdini."

In Ohio, Willow and Wile E. Coyote are joining 18 wolf dogs at the 20-acre facility, which opened just 15 months ago. DNA results haven't come back yet, but Vogt believes the dogs from Rhode Island are part wolf based on their appearance and behavior.

Vogt estimates that the nonprofit sanctuary is still about $800 short of its $8,000 fundraising goal to transport the dogs and build the 401 Run. Many of the donations have come from Rhode Island, she said.

Vogt promised the dogs would get good care and training in Ohio.

"We will do everything we can to give them the skills for success," she said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Warwick wolf dogs, mistaken for coyotes, arrive in Ohio