Taking care of a pet is a commitment. Every animal deserves a permanent home that can give them unconditional love. But there are times when pet owners are unable to handle their pets. In this case, some people give up their pets in a shelter.
Source: Maternity Week
This happened in the case of Yuki, who was brought to a shelter at eight months old because his original owner could no longer take care of him. Yuki was rescued by a special animal sanctuary but they were not prepared for how much of a handful Yuki could get.
Meet Yuki
It was the year 2008 when Yuki’s original owner started having problems. The owner had rescued Yuki as a puppy but as Yuki grew, he became difficult to control. The owner could not make him sit, or stay away from people, and he was uncontrollable even with a leash.
Source: Maternity Week
It was as if Yuki had forgotten all the training he learned as a puppy and had turned into a wild, snarling creature. The once gray-matted puppy grew up to be a huge and energetic dog. At eight months, Yuki grew to be bigger than his owner.
Giving up
Unfortunately, his owner had to face a personal battle as well. He became very sick and it was starting to get clear that he is in no position to take care of an uncontrollable pet like Yuki. His owner surrendered Yuki at a shelter with a high-kill rate.
Source: Pixabay
And this is where the Shy Wolf Sanctuary stepped in to rescue Yuki from a horrible fate. The animal shelter contacted Kent and Nancy Smith, owners of the sanctuary, to see if they were interested in taking in Yuki.
The Shy Wolf Sanctuary
The couple owned a shelter known for taking in animals that other shelters could not handle. They have seen the most unruly animals from aggressive dogs to wild animals like cougars. Yuki would be a perfect fit for them.
Source: Maternity Week
The animal shelter of the Smiths is known as the Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education and Experience Center (SWS) and it was founded in 2001 in Naples, Florida. The SWS provides sanctuary and rehabilitation to wild and captive wolves and exotic animals.
Their mission and vision
The SWS has helped over 1,200 animals in need. They have become a permanent home to over 60 rescued or captive-bred exotic animals every year. They have the mission to reconnect animals and people through education.
Source: Naples Daily News
The sanctuary has a permanent staff and active volunteers that work year-round. The people working with them have gained a lot of experience and have seen a lot. But even then, they had no idea that Yuki would pose a great challenge to them.
Getting Yuki
The Shy Wolf Sanctuary sent two of its staff members to the animal shelter to fetch Yuki and bring him to his new home. They have been warned that Yuki was a tough case. They were aware of how uncontrollable and unpredictable the big gray dog was.
Source: Maternity Week
The SWS was confident that they could give Yuki the special care and attention that he needed. But the two staff members were not prepared when they saw Yuki in person. Yuki was a beast. He was gigantic for an eight-month-old puppy.
Not man’s best friend
And Yuki was so hard to deal with too. Yuki thrashed around in fear as they approached. He bared his teeth at them and snarled. He would glare at them with small, yellow eyes. It took a while for him to be comfortable around them.
Source: Shy Wolf Sanctuary
When Yuki arrived at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary, Kent and Nancy could easily tell that they were not dealing with a normal dog just by his size and his behavior. Yuki did not have that “man’s best friend” vibe that usually came with dogs.
An unfortunate incident
Yuki was mostly erratic. Eventually, Yuki became more comfortable as he started to get used to the Shy Wolf Sanctuary grounds. The staff tried their best to tame him and almost made progress until an accident happened.
Source: Maternity Week
Yuki was placed in an enclosure with palmettos growing in the back area. He ended up wounding his right knee badly and had to go through five surgeries to fully heal. Now that he was going through pain, Yuki became more unpredictable.
Eccentric needs
Part of Yuki’s eccentricities is that he was very choosy when it comes to the staff members and volunteers that whom he would interact with. It later became more apparent that Yuki preferred being tended to by a chosen few of the female staff members and volunteers.
Source: Maternity Week
When Yuki was in a good mood, he would even sit on the lap of one of the female staff members and pose for pictures. One thing was for sure – Yuki did not stop growing. The staff was even accused of photoshopping Yuri’s huge size by some people.
The DNA test
Kent and Nancy decided to arrange a DNA test for Yuki. When the test results came back, everyone was shocked. It turns out that Yuki has 8.6% Siberian Husky and 3.9% German Shepherd genes.
Source: Maternity Week
But this was just a fraction of his DNA. Yuki was 87.5% gray wolf! Now that they got Yuki’s DNA test results, everything made more sense. It was no wonder Yuki’s original owner could not handle him anymore – Yuki was more wolf than dog.
A wolfdog
Wolves are known to be anti-social to humans. They act completely differently from dogs. This is why a wolfdog specie like Yuri can be unpredictable. The staff at Shy Wolf Sanctuary believes that knowing Yuki’s DNA would make it easier for them to domesticate him.
Source: Maternity Week
The chances of Yuki being tame are low – especially since Yuki has a painful injury and has shown an aversion towards males. Because of this, Nancy and Kent decided that Yuki should stay permanently in the sanctuary.
A gigantic beast
As a full-grown adult, Yuki weighed about 120 pounds and grew to be over five feet long. He is one of the sanctuary’s larger animals. If you are curious about how much he eats, Yuki’s meals are 10 pounds of raw meat four times a week.
Source: Bored Panda
By then, the staff members of the sanctuary had fallen in love with the unpredictable wolfdog and posts him often on their Instagram accounts. It did not take long for Yuki to gain his own fans, thanks to social media.
He’s finally home
Yuki has grown to become one of the most interesting animals in the sanctuary. He has bonded with a small number of staff members and volunteers who gave him the nickname “Woowoo” because that is the noise he makes when he wants to play with them.
Source: Bored Panda
When the Shy Wolf Sanctuary staff notice the demand for updates on Yuki, they started documenting moments of his daily life, his favorite activities, and even his love life. You read that right – Yuki has a love life.
Finding love
Yuki found a mate with another dire wolf in the sanctuary named Bella. And not only that but their relationship had an unexpected development. Although Yuki was bigger and moodier, Bella was the alpha! With Bella around, Yuki became easier to handle.
Source: Maternity Week
The two had been sharing their enclosure together for years and they seemed to be happy. Their relationship is also often featured on the sanctuary’s Instagram account, which boosted Yuki’s popularity even more.
Becoming famous
It did not take long for Yuki’s story to go viral. With Yuki’s popularity growing, a lot of people reached out to the sanctuary because they wanted to adopt the beautiful and huge wolfdog.
Source: Maternity Week
The sanctuary had to turn these offers down since Yuki was not fit for adoption. But these gave them a chance to ask for sponsorship. Before they knew it, funds were coming in and Yuki started receiving gifts from his fans from all over the world.
An unexpected illness
Things may have been looking good for Yuki but as he got older, he got sick. It was then that he got an unexpected diagnosis: cancer. Yuki had hemangiosarcoma, a type of blood cancer. Unfortunately, it was terminal and they were told he did not have long.
Source: Shy Wolf Sanctuary
The staff at the sanctuary was heartbroken. They did their best to make sure that Yuki’s final days would be the best ones for him to remember. And he ended up staying with them longer than expected – 3 years to be exact.
An inspiration
In November 2020, Yuki passed away. He was 13 years old when he passed away in his sleep inside his enclosure. The staff found that he had died in his sleep when he did not show up for his medicine during the morning rounds.
Source: Shy Wolf Sanctuary
He was well-loved by Nancy, Kent, and the staff who rescued, rehabilitated, and loved him. Yuki’s story and their experience with him inspired Kent and Nancy to make a huge decision. They decided to expand the sanctuary.
Strengthening their cause
Because of Yuki, the SWS is known to be the place that takes good care of wolves and dire wolves. It has become quite a specialty for the sanctuary, giving them an edge compared to other sanctuaries in the country.
Source: Bored Panda
The popularity of the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones” had helped their cause. On the show, the Stark children had their own dire wolves. And more people have been curious about these creatures ever since.
A last resort
A lot of people believe that if they raise a wolf from a pup, it can grow up acting like a dog. But then, this often backfires and when they act more wolf than dog, it becomes an issue. Wolfdogs are considered to be unadoptable by domestic animal services.
Source: Maternity Week
Places like the Shy Wolf Sanctuary are literally their last hope. Kent and Nancy acquired another bigger area in Florida where they can relocate and create another haven for wolves and wolfdog breeds. The animals at the SWS will be relocating from their 2.5-acre spot to a 17-acre spot.
Continuing the job
With a bigger facility, the Shy Wolf Sanctuary will be able to work on its mission and vision and provide a larger space for all its animal rescues. They have been identified as having wolves and wolfdogs as their specialties.
Source: Bored Panda
Today, they continue taking in animals not accepted by government animal services, zoos, or wildlife rehabilitators. They also offer educational programs and therapeutic animal encounters.