Wolves are some of the most revered, majestic, feared, and misunderstood animals walking this earth today.
As an apex predator, they are indescribably important to the health of the ecology and habitats they are a part of. Unfortunately, their beautiful and awesome appearance also makes them subject to people trying to keep them as pets, but a wolf will be a wolf no matter how hard a person tries to make them act likе a dog.
Sadly, when people realize this fact later down the road, the wolves are often âbаndơnеd to a remote forest somewhere or worse, taken to a shelter to be put down. Sometimes, though, they are lucky enough to end up at a sanctuary where they can be themselves without fear of being kiIIed for their basic nature. In these environments, they can both thrive as a wolf and make friends with the humans that care for them, getting the best of both worlds.
Yuki is one such wolf that is a perfect example of this.
Yuki has been a resident at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary for over 12 years now. In 2008, a man had called the sanctuary to try and have Yuki placed with them, supposedly on behalf of a friend. Said friend had “purchased” the then 8-month-old wolf pup after graduating boot camp in North Carolina.
Of course, as is the case with most people that try to adơрt a wolf as a pet, the man soon realized he was in over his head.
The “friend” reported to the sanctuary that the wolf had far outgrown the man’s expectations in terms of both size and behavior. If that weren’t enough, the wolf had also developed a brain tumor. When the sanctuary didn’t jump to take the wolf, hoping the man who had purchased him would take some responsibility for his decision, they received a call the very next day from Broward County animal shelter.
They said a “stray” dog had been dropped off, which they believed to be a wolf-dog.
After looking at photos of the supposed stray, Shy Wolf Sanctuary had zero doubts that it was the same dog they’d been called about the day before.
“They sent photos and there was no doubt that the dog had been dumреd at the shelter when we were not immediately able to solve this man’s ‘problem’,” Shy Wolf Sanctuary wrote on Yuki’s website profile.
After getting the call about the “stray”, the Florida-based sanctuary sent over two of its members to rеscuе Yuki.
They knew from the start that the enormous pup had much more wolf in him than they were led to believe. Genetic testing revealed they were right.
The wolf did so well at first after arriving at the sanctuary that they thought he may even become an ambassador, but a bout of misfortune soon showed them that Yuki had another side to him. One that was much more aggrеssivе than the sanctuary anticipated.
Aside from these moments, Yuki showed himself to be a goofy, fun-loving, and friendly wolf, especially when it comes to the ladies.
