Rescue

Note: Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary is currently at its maximum capacity. At this point, we cannot provide proper Sanctuary to any additional animals. Many, if not all, Sanctuaries and rescues across the nation are also full. Our only recommendation to those in need of placement is to do as much research and networking as possible.

The Need for Rescue
The Wolf-Dog Epidemic
Who do we Rescue?

Breeding and selling of exotic pets in the US has grown exponentially in the past few decades. With the assistance of the internet, almost any animal imaginable can be easily purchased and delivered to anyone. While responsible owners do exist, all too often, unscupulous breeders sell lions, tigers, monkeys, wolves and other exotics to uninformed, unsuspecting buyers. No wild animal should be kept by a casual pet owner. Proper care of wild animals requires expertise in many areas including containment, proper nutrition and socialization.

Wolves, in particular, are often subject to people's misconceptions. All too regularly, people who purchase a wolf to be a pet expect them to act similar to a domestic dog. While all dogs are likely descendents of the Gray wolf, the domestication of dogs took place over thousands of years. Wolves, no matter how they are raised, remain wolves and will never behave like our familiar canine companions. Whether born and raised in captivity or not, wolves retain much of their natural behavior, and always remain wild animals. Domestication is a process of evolution; it cannot be achieved in the lifespan of one animal.

Wolf-dogs are even more popular in the pet market. Some people believe that by crossing a wolf and a dog, offspring will be produced that looks like a wolf, but more readily behaves like a domestic dog. This is not necessarily the case. There is no sure way to know the exact percentage of wolf or dog in any wolf-dog litter. In some cases, low-content wolf-dogs may behave much like a dog. In other cases, however, they can be much more demanding and even dangerous to an uneducated owner. There is no way to be certain until an animal has reached maturity, which can take up to four years.

Estimates of the number of wolf-dogs and wolves currently in a domestic setting across the US range from 100,000 to 600,000. Estimates of those being euthanized each year range up to 10,000. While there is no way to substantiate or prove any of these figures, the number of calls for rescue and the general idea is clear: The number of wolves and wolf-dogs needing placement has reached epidemic proportions, and greatly outweighs the number of appropriate placements available.

We at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary receive 1 to 7 phone calls each and every day from people asking us to rescue an animal - or more often, rescue the person from their animal.

It is not uncommon to hear of breeders being shut down for animal cruelty, wolves and wolf-dogs being confiscated for legality reasons or other rescues being unable to sustain their facility. Most common, however, is the simple realization of an unspecting owner that they are caring for a wolf, and not the doggy-acting animal they had anticipated.

WSWS maintains a population of an average 55 animals. We are currently at our maximum capacity and cannot accept any more animals. Most, if not all of the rescues and sanctuaries in the US are also beyond their capacity. There is simply no where for these abandoned, abused and neglected animals to go. For most, the only answer is euthanasia.

While we are currently at capacity, throughout the history of the Sanctuary, Wild Spirit has placed many wolves and wolf-dogs that had no where else to go. Historically, WSWS (then known as Candy Kitchen Rescue Ranch) began by rescuing predominantly wolf-dogs. Throughout the years, we have transitioned into mostly accepting high-content wolf-dogs and pure wolves. The Sanctuary specializes in those "extreme cases" that simply cannot be properly cared for anywhere else. Because of our many years of experience with higher content wolf-dogs and pure wolves, combined with our specialized containment, we are among the few sanctuaries equipped to fully handle these animals.

Currently at the Sanctuary, we have a wide variety of wolves and wolf-dogs of various content levels and from very different backgrounds. You can learn about our current population by visiting the Our Animals section of the site.