Animal shelters commonly find pets left behind by owners when they get too big or too old, but what one shelter wasn’t anticipating was that one abandoned dog turned out to be something else.
Meet Yuki. Her DNA results came back and she’s actually a wolf. Fortunately for Yuki, she’s been taken in by a wolf sanctuary called Shy Wolf in southwest Florida.
“We rescued him from a failed house pet situation. Someone purchased him from a breeder and realized he was too much to handle. They dumped him at a kill shelter at 8 months old. We stepped in and provided a home for him and he has been with us ever since,“ – said Brittany Allen, a volunteer at the sanctuary.
Since a photo of Yuki, who stands 5’4 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds went on the Internet, some people have wondered if she’s been photoshopped. The sanctuary volunteers vow that Yuki was just photographed that day on her “fat” side.
People have asked to adopt Yuki, but she’s now terminally ill and will live out her days at the sanctuary.
A fundraising page has been set up to raise money for a larger property for the wolves and to help with Yuki’s vet bills
Since 1993 we have been on 2.5 acres, essentially in a backyard in residential area. We’ve made the best of it, but it’s time for us to do more.
The Shy Wolf Sanctuary was founded in 2001 on 2.5 acres and provides sanctuary and rehabilitation to wild and captive-bred wolves and other exotic animals, according to its website.
Photo credit of Yuki: Brittany Allen