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Remus
RIP Remus whom we lost in July of 2007
Remus was found wandering the streets near a WalMart for over a week and was being fed lunch meat by people trying to help him. He was taken to a vet's office by a very sweet elderly woman. The vet and the county identified him as a wolf hybrid and gave him 24 hours to find a legal home before being euthanized due to the laws of the county.
CLAWS was contacted, however, we also reside in a county where wolf hybrids are illegal. So, not wanting him to die simply because he was a hybrid, one of our board members picked him up and took him home on February 2, 2005. We contacted every wolf hybrid rescue across the country only to find that they were all full to overflowing with unwanted hybrids.
Originally we saw nothing more than what looked like a Shepherd dog in the pictures we saw. But when I met him in person, and saw this 125 pound, majestic creature trotting up to me with such grace, I finally saw the wolf in him. The photographs simply do not show the grace of movements and other features that can only come from having wolf in his genetics.
Remus was fostered by a wonderful woman and integrated so well into her home that after his two year anniversary with us, we decided to stop trying to find a home for him and just make him a permanent member of the CLAWS family.
Through extensive research, we learned that taken individually, the various features of a wolf can be found in one or another species of dogs. But only the wolf carries multiples of these features. For example, there are dog breeds with ‘wolf eyes’ and other dog breeds have a similar tail. But only a wolf has the eyes, the tail, their legs, etc. When mixed with a dog, there truly is no way to positively identify a wolf hybrid simply by looking at it. DNA test results are the same for a dog as for a wolf until you get down to mitochondrial DNA level. This level of testing is very expensive and there are few labs that even do it so it’s not practical to do this testing in most cases.
While it’s hard to tell by looking if you are dealing with a wolf hybrid or not, we had Remus seen by many “experts”, including vets, wolf hybrid breeders, state biologists and more, and all were more than certain that he had wolf in him. Watching the grace and style with which he would walk and run would convince anyone that he was NOT a dog. He also could not eat ANY dog food without getting sick so he had to be fed a natural (wolf) diet. So while it does not show in the photos, we are certain that he had wolf in his genetic background.
People hear, or are told all the time that a wolf hybrid has "X percentage of wolf in him", this is something that breeders simply tell people to make them feel they are purchasing something very unique. The reality is, even if a pure wolf and a pure dog are bred together, there is absolutely no way to tell what percentage of the DNA will end up coming from one or the other parent. A single litter can range from pure wolf to pure dog. It all depends on what genetic makeup ends up in that particular puppy.
CLAWS is against mutation breeding of any kind due to the fact that there are enough unwanted pets in the world and there really is no way to predict which traits of which species will be dominant, and this can lead to issues. In our opinion, this makes breeding of these animals irresponsible at best.
Remus was one of the sweetest dogs you could ever hope to meet and ended up living out the remainder of his life with his very own “pack” of dogs along with humans who loved him. He was a big hit at the educational programs that he went to.
Sadly, just a few weeks after permanently adopting him, we took him to the vet and it was discovered that he had a very aggressive form of cancer. We were all heart broken, especially his foster mom, but she was thoroughly dedicated to making the end of his life as happy and comfortable as it could be.
Remus will be missed by so very many!
Click on any picture to enlarge it.
Please consider making a donation to help with the mounting vet bills we are paying on Remus' care.
He was treated for worms when he first got here, but is over that now. He was also neutered and given all of his shots on February 24, 2005.
Wolf Dogs
Normally this section is dedicated to the particular species in the wild. However, wolf dogs, or wolf hybrids are not a wild species, they are totally "man made", so we can't talk about them in the wild. We have spoken to every wolf and wolf dog rescue in the country that we have been able to find and have found that they are all full to capacity.
Over the past several years, it has become very popular for people to cross breed wolves with dogs. This is one way of getting around the "exotic animal" laws in some areas. These "dogs" are often advertised as wonderful family pets. Unfortunately, in most cases, this is far from the case. While wild wolves are among the shyest of all species and generally pose no threat to humans (no matter what we are told in story books), wolf dogs can be very dangerous. The reason for this is that that innate fear of humans and their intelligence and apparent ability to reason has been bred out of them with the dog portion. Dogs have no fear of humans. So what you tend to end up with is a VERY powerful and predatory animal who has no fear. This is not a very good combination.
Contributing to this problem is the breed of dogs that are being bred to wolves. Typically those include German Shepherd, Keeshond, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Chow, or Akita. While Shepherds, Keeshonds and Samoyeds tend to be more trainable and submissive dogs, Huskies, Malamutes, Chows and Akitas tend to be known for their aggressive tendencies, and these can come out in the wolf dogs. Luckily for Remus, he is crossed with a German Shepherd and shows those tendencies.
No wolf dog should be left alone with children, and any introduction to other animals should be done carefully. It is advised to be VERY careful when putting dogs and wolf dogs of the same sex together, especially if they are not neutered or spayed. Females are more aggressive than males, but, as with any dogs, males can also have issues with each other. However, due to both dog's and wolf's pack nature, it is also advisable that they do have a canine companion.
There is really no way to predict which tendencies will come out in a wolf dog, that of the wolf or of the dog, so potential owners should do as much research as possible prior to committing to this species.
Wolf dogs can be great companions, for the right home. However, you must understand what you are getting into prior to ownership.