Haven for Howlers: Wolfdogs find home in Southern Ohio Wolf Sanctuary
Oct. 28—CHESAPEAKE, Ohio — About nine minutes into an interview with wolfdog wizard John DeBoard, one of the 29 canines on his secluded property in the hills of Lawrence County, Ohio, sang a solo.
A few more jumped in, creating a chorus of howls. Then, more than two dozen — perhaps all — of them contributed to the music.
When asked what prompted the symphony, DeBoard shrugged and said, "They just do it."
It doesn't matter the time of day or night, either, the choir may make its presence known.
The howls were short-lived, though. Aside from an initial brief greeting to a reporter and photographer at the Southern Ohio Wolf Sanctuary, and the aforementioned tune, the wolfdogs were calm, quiet and reserved.
DeBoard has had as many as 52 wolfdogs in the sanctuary at one time. He formed the nonprofit organization in 2014.
A wolfdog is a cross between a domestic dog and a wolf. DeBoard rescues the animals, which are not ideal pets for everybody. Some quickly learn that, DeBoard noted.
"It's all in how you handle them," DeBoard said. "They got their problems, but you gotta handle them a little differently than other dogs. It's hard to explain."
Although he's endured several bites, DeBoard has mastered the task of caring for the canines. Of his 29, they vary in wolf levels from 11% to 95%. He has them all DNA-tested.
Having these would be illegal in Chesapeake proper, but his Chesapeake address carries no weight in this instance. He abides by county and state laws.
The genesis
DeBoard has long loved wolves, but he never truly entertained the idea of owning a wolfdog until 10 or so years after his beloved Chow Chow, Jojo, died.
"He went through two marriages with me, and was with me on my third marriage," DeBoard said.
Those who knew DeBoard best insisted he needed a dog — that he wasn't complete without one.
In the meantime, he kept busy by doing body work on vehicles and other jobs and hobbies here and there.
They persisted in their persuasion, though, until he finally admitted they were right.
"They kept hollering, I need a dog," DeBoard said. "So I got on the internet one day and I said, if they want me to get a dog, I'm going to have a wolf."
DeBoard encountered bounds of red tape when it comes to wolf ownership. That, coupled with his realization that wolves "belong in the wild where they were intended," he decided to research further.
"I happened to run across something called a wolfdog," he said. "I didn't know that they were so much in need."
DeBoard's first wolfdog was Cheyenne in 2013. She's a personal pet, not a rescue, he clarifies.
"Everybody just fell in love with her," said DeBoard, who posted popular pictures of her on social media.
Cheyenne, like all the others, is in a spacious pen handmade by DeBoard. Some pens are solitary while a few of them house up to five wolfdogs. It depends on several factors, including their disposition and health. Two dogs are in individual pens a good hundred yards away from the others — one is hateful, DeBoard said, and the other has Lou Gehrig's Disease.
DeBoard will gladly provide a biography on all 29, which are uniquely named.
Yukon, 14, is one of the oldest.
Misfit is a "sweetheart," he said, who likes to climb.
Diesel is like velcro as he "runs and jumps and sticks to the fence, then falls off," he said.
Cheyenne is playful and friendly.
Piper, Mayhem, Harrah and Hinder are a few of his "old-timers," as he calls them.
A lot of them enjoy rides in DeBoard's old pickup truck — in which the odometer reads 300,000 miles — to Tractor Supply and Lowe's.
DeBoard is a roadie for concerts, so he's involved in the setup and breakdown for various acts in Huntington and Ashland. Sometimes, the dogs will accompany him.
He keeps them leashed when they go places with him.
"Socialization is a big thing with these dogs," he said.
So is trust.
Trust and treats
Some of them have horrific backstories.
"Some of these have been beaten and mistreated so bad," DeBoard said, noting that one named Hatchie suffered through having his back toes stomped and broken.
Another one was "a basketcase when we picked him up."
DeBoard said many people who think they can be good wolfdog owners "lose control of them" or don't have them in proper areas.
"There's some (reasoning) to do with the breed itself, but 95% of what I see is people just bite off more than they can chew.," he said.
They're not house dogs, he emphasized.
Willow's former owner busted her teeth out, he said, and for that reason she has mean streak.
"She hates kids, but everybody says she's my girlfriend," DeBoard cracked a smile. "For some reason she loves the kitchen section at Lowe's, too."
Maybe it's because she's salivating for the next piece of deer, bear or elk meat.
They also consume chicken and beef.
While he does feed them some dog food, 95% of their diet is raw meat.
Caring for these animals is "like having an adolescent teenager for the rest of your life," DeBoard described. "They require a lot of attention; they can be stubborn, they can be sweet. One minute you're in there playing with them and loving all over them and telling them to sit, and the next minute you tell them to sit and they look at you like you're stupid."
DeBoard knows the potential danger associated with these dogs. He doesn't care because his affection for them greatly outweighs any fear.
"Like I tell everybody, I'd rather any day for you to come up here and find me dead in a cage — ya know, dying doing something I like — rather than dying doing something I don't," DeBoard said. "I don't want to die in a fiery car crash. I don't want to die in a plane crash. If one of the dogs would take me out, that's what I would rather happen.
"People say I'm the crazy guy," he added.
'Not about money'
The Southern Ohio Wolf Sanctuary is a 501C3 organization.
Everything is funded through community donations.
"We operate on a shoestring budget, but we don't mind operating on a shoestring budget," DeBoard said. The sanctuary's board consists of three members, including his wife.
"I never want it to be about money," DeBoard said. "I want it to be about the animals."
DeBoard can lean on the 501C3 for tax exemption. He said the sanctuary will have fundraisers and always accept donations — whether that be in money form or in the form of items such as self-feeders, brushes, shampoos, fly traps, mosquito traps, food and the like.
Veterinary bills are inevitable as well. The dogs are wormed twice a year. They're all spayed and neutered, too.
They have their fair share of health issues, he said.
"Cancer is a big killer in these dogs," DeBoard said. "You see that quite a bit."
While he has helped re-home some of the wolfdogs, he typically doesn't have any at the sanctuary who are up for adoption.
"I'm not anti-ownership of these dogs," he said. "But there needs to be more education about what they are, how they are."
He said some state laws need adjusted, too. It's illegal to keep one as a pet in Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wyoming. Most states have percentage caps, he noted. In Ohio, animals up to 98% wolf may have private owners and are not classified as exotic animals.
Visit southernohiowolfsanctuary.com or the Southern Ohio Wolf Sanctuary Facebook page for more information.
(606) 326-2664
