by Kristina Lotz
Do you know the know difference between a wolf, wolfdog and a wolf hybrid? This is just one thing you will learn with a visit to the newly opened nonprofit Roam in the Spirit of the Wolf Sanctuary in Mason County, between Hoodsport and Shelton.
Take a walk on the wild side with their VIP educational tours.
From a Dog Boarding Facility in Monroe to the ROAM Wolf Sanctuary in Shelton
During her 18 years running a domestic dog boarding facility while fostering wolfdogs on the side, Jodi Woolard decided these special animals needed more: a sanctuary to call home as well as a way to spread awareness and education to the general public. “As a huge wolf advocate, spreading awareness on the importance of wolf conservation was always something I was talking about,” Jodi shares.
One of the biggest issues, she found, was the misrepresentation of wolfdogs versus just a husky mix. Wolfdogs will be euthanized by a shelter if no sanctuary can be found to take them, but Jodi says sometimes it’s just a domestic husky mix, usually a shepherd, that could have found a home. “So, after several years of all this renting space in my head, we sold everything – the farm, the business, our vacation property – and we found this beautiful 40 acres of forest and started building Roam exactly two years ago today,” shares Jodi.
The Difference Between Wolves, Wolfdogs, and Wolf Hybrids
Pure wolves are wild, federally protected and not legal to own. Wolf hybrids are 50% pure wolf and 50% domestic dog. Wolfdogs – which you find at the Roam wolf sanctuary in Mason County – are created by specialized breeders. “Wolfdogs are the product of generations of wolfdog breeding to other wolfdogs until they reach the genetic makeup of a high-content wolfdog with the doggy temperament they are trying to acquire,” explains Jodi.
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