The wolf is one of the most revered creatures in the world because of its might, extraordinary instincts, keen intelligence, and social skills. The magnificent animal has long been celebrated in myths, literature, film, art, and other cultural works, gently teaching us to value them even more. It makes sense that people would want to bring a piece of the wilderness home. People developed the wolfdog with the intention of fusing the finest of both worlds. A wolfdog is essentially a cross between a wolf and a domestic dog, both of which belong to the Canis genus.
When you meet Yuki, you probably wouldn’t give his descent a second thought, and it’s understandable why. “His DNA testing came back as 87.5% Gray Wolf, 8.6% Siberian Husky, and 3.9% German Shepherd,” – a staff member of Shy Wolf Refuge Brittany Allen informed us. “Yuki is one of the highest content wolfdogs at the sanctuary where he is presently residing.”
More info: shywolfsanctuary.org | Facebook
Yuki seems so enormous and menacing in this picture that it’s sweeping the internet. Yuki is not as big as he seems in the picture and weighs about 120 pounds, according to the girl in the picture, Brittany Allen, who is 5’4″. In a recent funny Instagram post, she reacted to claims that the photograph had been altered by adding the remark, “The expression we make when people think Yuki’s picture is Photoshopped… Just his fat angle people, that is. We all possess one.
The image has gained a lot of much-needed attention and has told the heartbreaking and inspirational story of a gorgeous wolfdog that was saved by Shy Wolf Sanctuary and given a second shot at life.
“We saved him from being an abandoned home pet. After buying him from a breeder, someone discovered he was too much to manage. At the age of eight months, they left him at a kill shelter. He has lived with us ever since we intervened and gave him a home, according to Brittany Allen.
Yuki first visited us in 2008. In comparison to many of the animals who come to us, he was in pretty excellent condition and at first had a really friendly disposition. At one point, we even thought about making him an ambassador. Yuki managed to hook a leg on a palmetto shortly after entering Shy Wolf Sanctuary, which caused him to inflict a wound on his right hind knee. Yuki developed cage aggression during the five procedures it ultimately took to treat the wound, according to one of the Shy Wolf Sanctuary’s directors.
Yuki’s new home was shown in images by volunteers of Shy Wolf Sanctuary in 2012, along with their initial impressions of him: “Yuki likes ladies, showing off to guests, and being incredibly funny.”
Yuki is one of those creatures that will let you know whether or not he wants you in his enclosure. He only let a very limited group of ladies into his cage, which he refers to as his “harem,” according to Judy, a volunteer at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary who has won Yuki’s confidence.
Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education and Experience Center (SWS), established in 2001 by Nancy Smith, offers refuge and rehabilitation to wild and captive-bred wolves as well as other exotic species. Over 60 captive-bred or rescued exotic animals find a permanent home each year on a 2.5 acre plot of land near Naples, Florida.
This nonprofit’s goal is to “reconnect humans and animals through education,” thus staff members and more than 30 committed volunteers put in year-round effort to not only care for neglected animals but also to raise awareness among the general public about how crucial it is to preserve them.
Domestic animal services don’t consider wolfdogs adoptable, therefore Shy Wolf Sanctuary is essentially their only chance to receive aid and find a permanent home.
They most certainly are creatures that call for respect. In the wild, an experience would be very different from what I had with these guys. The animals I work with are better socialized since they have never been in the wild and will never be. In an effort to at least make people relate to them and perhaps, through knowledge, transform their frightened reaction into a healthy respect, we display their cutest moments. Additionally, we give animals a shot at a decent existence when they would otherwise be put to death,” Brittany remarked.
The majority of wolves avoid interacting with humans and are not naturally hostile toward them, but with wolfdogs, each situation is unique. Compared to either the wolf or the dog, wolfdogs have less consistent behavioral patterns since they exhibit a variety of features. As a result, adopting these breeds has its own issues that individuals occasionally are not aware of. It’s hard to know how much wolf an animal will have, especially when it’s bought as a puppy.
“In my perspective, wolfdogs are a little trickier since it’s hard to predict how much wolf behavior they’ll exhibit compared to dog behavior. Compared to the pure wolves, Yuki may not always be more gregarious. We have genuine wolves, who are shy, curious animals that will flee when they encounter new humans. However, Yuki will approach a new person right away and turn hostile if he doesn’t like them. When you learn to know and trust a pure wolf, they may be kind and caring, but they will always be wolves; you must respect their limits and get out of their way so they can acquire their food.
“Yuki is now among the sanctuary’s most fascinating creatures. Although he is a difficult person to get to know, he has developed relationships with a select group of volunteers. He was given the moniker “Woowoo” because of the sounds he makes when he sees one of his selected volunteers, calling them to spend time with him, according to Jeremy Albrecht.
After years of providing Yuki with warmth and a loving home, the sanctuary was devastated to learn that the wolfdog has blood cancer, despite the fact that you couldn’t tell by looking at him.
“He received a cancer diagnosis last year, and sadly, it is fatal. We have dealt with this specific cancer previously, and in the end, it’s difficult to determine how quickly it was discovered and how much time a patient has left. Since Yuki has been battling it for a long and is persisting, everything is going as usual while we enjoy Yuki’s company.
We will, like we always do, make the best choices for Yuki’s quality of life when the time comes when he begins to exhibit symptoms, said Jeremy Albrecht. – “Our employees, volunteers, and Yuki will all find it difficult to say goodbye to one of our animals. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that even though many of these creatures had difficult lives before coming to Shy Wolf Sanctuary, their tales usually had happy ends. The last thing they do after their time with us is clear space for our subsequent rescue and joyful ending.
Yuki’s life seems to be becoming harder and harder, but we are confident that Shy Wolf Sanctuary is the best location for her to get a lot of unconditional love, care, and therapy.
Thank you for posting the story of Yuki. What a magnificant animal !
Yuki is beautiful,Thank you for explaining about your sanctuary and the need for it and how you save lives with dignity. Very best wishes for Yuki, she is in good hands and well loved.
This is a beautiful story! Tell Yuki I say hi and he is absolutely adorable!
Yuki is an amazing animal. Thank you for letting him live, sharing his story and giving him love.
I once dated a man who had 2 ‘German Shepherd’ dogs. They were amazing and lived outside in his yard with a wonderful shed as their home. When I went to his house for the 1st time they were in the back howling, he took me out to meet them. Having been a dog lover/owner for most of my life I said to him there was no way these were German Shepherd dogs. He whispered for me to be quiet. He called the bitch to come over and told me not to show any fear. That dog smelt me EVERYWHERE, she nuzzled into my long hair, licked my face all over, before laying at my feet. He then called the dog over and he did a similar thing, but at the end he howled again and sat looking at me. Steve told me to do whatever I thought was the correct thing to do! I sat down slowly but kept eye contact with the dog. He locked eyes with me, I slowly lowered my head, then lowered my body over my legs. I lifted my head to make eye contact again. he came over and nuzzled the back of my neck. Both then went into their shed. I had become the top female and Steve was the Alpha. He later told me he had been somewhere to get 2 wolves 1 Dog, 1 Bitch with no near blood line connecting them. They were incredible and so protective of me it was unreal. Sadly, Steve died from lung cancer and as we were not married, I have no idea what his daughter did with those astonishing wolves. I feel very privileged to have been in their company. Feeding them was a huge privilege and seeing them sitting and waiting for me to give them the go word to eat felt like a massive gift. They were amazing towards me, but I would not recommend just anyone having a wolf or two. Roxy and Titan were mega huge, whilst walking them everyone gave us a wide birth. Amazing how many believed they were German Shepherd X Husky.
What a wonderful story about an animal-being breed of wolf dogs. In a way it is nice that wolves have been given a chance to communicate with human-beings, but sad that they likely never lose their wild nature and it likely gets them in trouble. As we know when coyotes are fed by humans they lose their caution and it usually ends in their death. With wolves to lose only part of their strength can hinder their safety when humans misjudge their temperament.
Thank you for Yukis story. What a magnificent animal.
Yuki, you are beautiful. I wish you comfort and peace in your final days. Thank you for sharing your story.