Here in Alberta, we have the highest rate of newcomers into the province than anywhere else in Canada.
Most new residents to Alberta are transplants from Ontario and BC.
And now Alberta has had an influx of a new kind from BC – wolfdogs!
Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, west of Cochrane, and the only non-profit of its kind in Canada, has warmly welcomed 15 new additions to its family.
The new arrivals consist of 14 wolfdogs and one coy-dog, a coyote-dog cross that brings the total number of residents living at the sanctuary to 58 animals.
Imagine adding 25% more people to your house or apartment on short notice – there would be challenges!
Now imagine that these new family members all have special needs and that they can never leave your household!
These are the challenges that the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary faced when accepting the newcomers.
First, The Housing Problem
The new residents arrived from Warmland Wolf Kennel on Vancouver Island, a facility that bred wolfdogs and was in the process of closing down.
The animals from this facility were in need of a permanent home.
When Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary was approached in November about the possibility of accommodating these 15 newcomers, the Cochrane facility was initially reluctant due to concerns over significant housing issues.
Wolf dogs require spacious enclosures, which require a lot of time, effort, funds, and space to construct.
Every year the Cochrane facility makes sure to have extra space for one to four new wolfdog residents, but not 15!
And with winter fast approaching, they had to build rescue enclosures pronto.
And they did it!
Executive Director Georgina De Caigny summed it up, “Thanks to all the amazing people who supported our Canid Christmas Campaign, the non-existent winter weather, and the amazing team at Austech Fencing, we were able to pull off perhaps the fastest wolfdog containment construction in our history.”
Next, Transportation
With the rescue housing prepared, the next hurdle was transporting 15 animals that, unlike most domestic dogs, required significantly larger and stronger crates for safe transport.
Initially, the sanctuary had only four suitable crates and had to acquire three more urgently.
With just seven appropriate crates, the Yamnuska team would need to undertake the 28-hour round trip twice to transport all the wolfdogs to their new home.
Difficult conditions compounded the logistics of moving the animals: treacherous roads on the first trip and extreme cold on the second.
Moreover, 14 of the 15 animals needed spaying or neutering upon arrival, and handling these essentially ‘wild’ animals posed additional challenges.
Ultimately, the relocation cost amounted to about $87,000, with the construction of new rescue enclosures accounting for $70,000 of the total.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, just over $62,000 was raised to support the operation.
Permanent Residents.
The sanctuary’s efforts highlight the complex nature of wolfdogs, which are categorized into low-, mid-, or high-content based on the amount of wolf genetics they possess.
This amount of wolf content significantly impacts their behaviour, making some new residents more like their wild ancestors than domestic pets.
Even though it is still legal in many parts of Canada to breed wolves and dogs to make a wolfdog hybrid, this type of crossbreeding often leads to challenges for owners unprepared for the demands of such unique animals.
Ultimately, many owners find themselves unable to cope with the challenging behaviours of wolfdogs, resulting in either euthanasia or surrendering them to specialized sanctuaries like Yamnuska, which are equipped to meet the needs of these distinctive hybrids.
One of the sanctuary’s new residents, Wildfire the coy-dog, exemplifies the challenges and rewards of caring for these animals.
Not particularly fond of human interaction, Wildfire represents the sanctuary’s commitment to providing a safe, understanding environment for animals that cannot thrive in traditional homes.
Fundraising
To accommodate its growing family and move the wolfdogs out of the “temporary rescue enclosures,” Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary is planning to construct six new two-acre enclosures, a project estimated to cost around $65,000 each.
Construction has already begun on three of the enclosures, but more funds are needed, and donations are happily accepted on the sanctuary’s website.
The sanctuary also relies on visitor fees and education programs to sustain its operations, emphasizing the importance of community support in ensuring these animals avoid the tragic fate of euthanasia.
So here at The Rockies.Life, we welcome the newest furry residents to our mountain home and say thanks to Albertans who have opened their wallets to make a permanent home for the wolfdogs.
Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary and Albertans once again prove that our ‘get ‘er done’ attitude turns the ‘impossible’ into reality.
