Time running out for wolf-dogs if Orange County can’t find ‘humane’ living conditions
A group of wolf-dog hybrids that has been housed at the Orange County animal shelter since last summerstill need a permanent home, officials said Thursday.
Animal Control officials have “potentially found appropriate sanctuary placement” for some of the canines, bur have yet to find a suitable placement for the rest, said Tenille Fox, a spokesperson for Orange County Animal Services.
If the county cannot find an organization to take the animals, any hybrids remaining at the shelter would likely be humanely euthanized, she said.
Dr. Sandra Strong, director of Orange County Animal Services, said housing the animals in the shelter would deprive them of “an acceptable long-term quality of life,” and would not be in line with “good animal welfare practices.”
“Sadly, these dogs were never properly socialized as pets. They are not able to be safely walked on a leash, and they cannot easily be handled for care or effective social interaction,” Strong said in a news release.
“We are trying to keep them as comfortable as possible during their stay with us, and we are providing them with enrichment that they will accept,” she said. “The unfortunate reality is that the remaining wolfdogs cannot continue to stay in the shelter.”
Months-long effort to find hybrids a home
Officials have been trying to place the hybrids, which are believed to be part German shepherd, since they arrived at the animal shelter in July and August of 2021.
In August, a board-certified veterinarian confirmed their genetic information and behavior was consistent with wolf-dog cross breeding, the release stated. The expert, who has a background in zoo medicine and extensive experience working with wolves, agreed with the county’s placement plan for the hybrids.
Officials didn’t allow the animals to be adopted because it would be “a public danger” to place them with anyone with insufficient experience or the required license to deal with hybrids, the release stated.
Roughly a dozen of the hybrid animals escaped from an enclosure in the Cedar Grove community north of Hillsborough back in July, The News & Observer previously reported.
Eight were captured at the time and moved to the animal shelter on Eubanks Road.
A few of the animals remained on the loose, and one of them, a female, was found dead off N.C. 86 in Hillsborough in November. The animal appeared to have been hit by a car, Fox told the N&O at the time.
Two wolf-dog hybrids remained unaccounted for, Fox said, but had not been seen recently as of November, and likely left the area or died.
Where have animal control officials looked?
The county has contacted multiple sanctuaries, but most have not had room to house the animals, Fox said. Officials have also reached out to rescues, but none has been able to care for the hybrid animals, which require extensive socialization.
The wolf-dog hybrids were evaluated in December by a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, who said that confining the animals to a shelter in the long term would be stressful, and inhumane, Fox said.
It is illegal to own the animals in Orange County, and in addition to them not being domesticated like other pet animals, there is no approved rabies vaccine for them.
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