Once home in Rhode Island, wolf dogs start new lives in faraway states
Part wild animal, part "man's best friend," wolf dogs live between two worlds, and finding them a suitable home can be challenging.
It's been three months since the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rescued Howl, but the agency is still trying to get the 6-year-old wolf dog settled into a permanent home. The RISPCA has had to look beyond Rhode Island, as it's one of 12 states where it's illegal to own such dogs.
More: Dog rescued from Tiverton home looked and acted like a wolf. So the RISPCA had him tested
The sanctuary Wolves of Maine says it wants to take in Howl, and the agency is trying to raise $10,000 to build his living space and pay for food, veterinary expenses and training, the sanctuary says in a fundraising appeal on Facebook.
The mission of the nonprofit rescue and education center is to "rescue, protect and care for abused and/or neglected wolves, wolf hybrids and wolfdogs for the remainder of their natural lives and educate the public about wolf ecology," its website says.
The RISPCA says it expects to finalize Howl's departure later this month.
Howl is among at least five wolf dogs that have come to the attention of animal rescues, and the media, in Rhode Island this year, making 2023 the unofficial year of the wolf dog in the Ocean State. Here are updates on the other four:
Zeus's new dad in Vermont couldn't imagine life without his shadow
Zeus, the first of the wolf dogs to catch the attention of Rhode Island's media in January of this year, has become a celebrity in northern Vermont.
"He's been doing good. He's adjusted really well to everything. He's my shadow. He wants to be everywhere I go," says Ron Monroe, a former Rhode Islander who adopted Zeus and brought him home to Enosburg, Vermont, just a few miles from the Canadian border.
Among the places Zeus likes to go with Monroe are stores like Tractor Supply and Bates Farm and Yard, where he's greeted like a favorite customer and given treats. Tractor Supply even gave Zeus his own staff vest, complete with a name tag.
More: RI animal rescue seeks new home for 'Zeus' – who may be part wolf
"He loves going there. He walks around the store like he's security," Monroe says.
Monroe adopted Zeus after the dog was surrendered to the Potter League for Animals in Middletown. Formerly of Cranston, Monroe learned of Zeus from a friend and discovered Zeus's former owner was also an acquaintance. Zeus's story was especially touching, because he suffers from epileptic seizures, and it was thought that settling into a forever home would help his condition.
The Rhode Island media picked up on Zeus's story when the Potter League was trying to find him a home, and then the media in Vermont reached out for interviews when Monroe brought him home. Newsweek also ran a story on the adoption.
Along with the clippings, Zeus has a Facebook page with 3,000 followers. "He's pretty famous," Monroe said.
Photos: Rhode Island's wolf dogs
At 105 pounds and as tall as Monroe when he stands on his hind legs, Zeus, who's 30% gray wolf, has the majestic look of a wolf, and it doesn't go unnoticed. "Sometimes people will stop and ask, 'Is he a wolf? Is that the one from Rhode Island?'" Monroe says.
Zeus might look like the Big Bad Wolf, but, Monroe says "he doesn't have a mean bone in his body."
Monroe, 58, and his wife, Keri, have no children in their home, but three grandchildren live nearby and regularly interact with Zeus. The couple also have another dog, Titan, a potcake. The two dogs get along fine.
Zeus's move to Vermont got off to a rough start, with seizures on his first night. "My heart was broken," Monroe says. Zeus was doing better with an adjustment in medication, but then had seizures two days in a row in late July.
"I'm at a loss at what is triggering them ... nothing has changed in his routine at all," Monroe wrote on Zeus's Facebook page. "I am determined to get the correct (medication combination) nailed down."
Also part husky and part Alaskan malamute, Zeus seems to have found the perfect environment in northern Vermont. He loves playing in the snow.
Monroe says "I couldn't imagine my life without him now."
The 'Fabio of wolf dogs' has a new girlfriend in Kansas
Wolf dog Sirius Black moved from an animal shelter in West Warwick to a sanctuary in Kansas, where he found a girlfriend from New Hampshire.
Sirius Black is sharing a pen at Mattersville with Athena, a female wolf dog rescued in New Hampshire.
"He's got a girlfriend," says Drew Robertson, founder and executive director of the sanctuary.
More: How RI's wolf-dog hybrid will help bring magic to Kansas veterans
That should come as no surprise. After all, with his long, thick, flowing coat, Sirius Black reminds Robertson of an actor-heartthrob. "He's the Fabio of wolf dogs," Robertson says.
Sirius Black also has a calm temperament that makes him perfect for the sanctuary, which combines housing for veterans with a program in which the veterans work with rescued wolf dogs in an attempt to heal both man and beast.
"He's one of the best we've had," Robertson says.
"We're turning him into an ambassador, as we expected," Robertson says. "He's been adjusting really well. We're fortunate to have him with us."
Ambassador dogs can be taken out into the community for public sessions and also attend private therapy sessions, Robertson says.
"I'd trust him with a newborn baby," he says.
Despite Sirius Black's calm demeanor, Robertson acknowledges handlers went slow and looked for signs in determining whether he and Athena would get along.
"If she pees, then he pees on her pee," Robertson says, "it's basically a match made in heaven."
The '401 girls' are getting more room to roam
The two wolf dogs that caused a stir roaming around Warwick this spring will soon get more room to roam in an Ohio sanctuary.
Volunteers and staff members at the Red Riding Hood Rescue Project are doubling the size of Willow and Wily's 3,000-square-foot pen, says Susan Vogt, co-founder and board president of the rescue in Middletown, Ohio.
"They're doing very well. They're settling in. I think they're calmer," says Vogt, whose rescue took custody of the wolf dogs, formerly named Bella and Libby, in May.
More: From on the run to the '401 Run': Ohio sanctuary readies to receive Warwick wolf dogs
Rescued from a bad living situation, the wolf dogs are slowly building trust in people. Willow is the shyer of the two and uses Wily "as kind of a buffer" when people enter their pen to interact with them, according to Vogt.
"Wily is doing very well with some of the training as long as treats are involved," Vogt says.
Handlers at the sanctuary can walk eight of the 20 wolf dogs, but Willow and Wily aren't ready for that yet, according to Vogt. To get wolf dogs to that milestone, trainers must gradually introduce them to a slip leash before the dogs will accept it being placed over their heads.
"It's baby steps," Vogt says.
One reason for expanding the pen is to allow the dogs to be trained separately. Another is to be prepared in case they become aggressive toward each other, sometimes an issue with wolf dogs of the same sex when they grow into adulthood, according to Vogt. If that happens, they can be easily separated in the new space, Vogt says.
Red Riding Hood Rescue Project has gotten a lot of support from Rhode Islanders since Willow and Wily arrived, including from an anonymous Rhode Island donor who has pledged $6,000 in matching funds to expand their pen and add pens for two more wolf dogs. That's in addition to the more than $5,000 the donor had already given. Out of gratitude, Vogt says, Red Riding Hood is naming the expanded section after her pet cat, Kurtz.
Vogt is so pleased with the support she's received from Rhode Islanders, she has posted a "Rhode Island Road" street sign on a sanctuary thoroughfare. Willow and Wily are often called the "401 Girls" and their pen is the "401 Run." The sanctuary isn't open to the public, except during special events, but Vogt says the rescue will work with Rhode Islanders who want to schedule visits.
"We love Rhode Islanders. We really do. You've got the best state," she says. "I wish you were our neighbors."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Whatever happened to those wolf dogs from Rhode Island?
