6 Page Article – 15th June 2019
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It’s widely believed that all dogs today trace their roots to a single group of wolves that crossed the path of humans almost 40,000 years ago. Researchers in this fascinating study believe that domestication happened from two separate wolf populations, one in Europe and the other in Asia.
Recent DNA analysis has shown that ancient dogs first split from wolves around 40,000 years ago, most likely caused by the presence of human camps. However, the latest understanding indicates that, rather than humans actively taming wild wolves, it would have started with the animals approaching hunter-gatherer camps in search of food.
As time went by, it is reckoned that integration of the wolf/dog human friendship was well established around 7000 years ago, dogs had pretty much evolved in comparison with today’s modern hound breed and were spreading everywhere, across the globe.
Modern Researchers have reached the opinion that the European dog of that period is most likely the one that went on to father many of the modern dog breeds found today. With careful assumptions, the findings relied upon fossilised DNA of two dogs dug up in Germany, 7000 and 4700 years old, which they compared to modern day hounds.
It was in 1955 that Karel Hartl began to consider crossing a Carpathian wolf with a German shepherd as a scientific experiment at the military kennels in Czechoslovakia.
A few years later, the idea was born and so too was the establishment of a new breed of hybrid.
The first hybrids of a female wolf named Brita and a male German shepherd named Cesar were born on 26 May 1958 in Libějovice.
So let’s fast forward into the 20th Century, the origin of the wolf, hybrid wolf and dog that has spread globally in many countries for various reasons.
The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog were eventually engineered as attack dogs for use in military special operations done by the Slovak special forces commandos, but were later also used in search and rescue, schutzhund, tracking, herding, agility, obedience, hunting and drafting in Europe and the United States.
And so our story begins.
A story, far removed from the normal everyday activity of the average pet owner, living and loving the plethora of domestic animals cared for in millions, if not billions of homes worldwide.
This brief moment in time dips into the life of one very special four legged friend. 
A friend as complex in nature and habitat as the ferule wolf, yet as beautiful in kind as any home reared pet that could ever exist in family life. Indeed, a friend having one important exception.
This four legged friend is unique, he’s special, he’s aged, he’s big, really big; but most of all, he is an out and out 87.5% Grey Wolf.
His family name is “Yuki”. Abandoned at eight months old by his original owners living on Florida’s east coast, Yuki ended up in a Florida high-kill shelter.
Yuki is absolutely Wolf. He’s also a little bit Dog, but to be sure, his DNA results have cast in him, a true identity without any shadow of doubt, that he is indeed, the true, unequivocal perfect hybrid example of the enigmatic much misunderstood; “WolfDog”.
This wonderful animal now lives his days in care. Don’t ask about his formative existence. That is Yuki’s secret, whether it is one of human kindness or one of suppression and constant struggle, wherever the reality sits, a glimpse into Yuki’s eyes will never reveal the twain.
He is a champion of virtue, the proverbial Gentle Giant, the delicate Shy Wolf. To know Yuki’s trust is to learn about real affection without conditions, that’s how it is in life; we know it in literature as “true love”.
There is and always will be an eventual end to everything known. Creation, the Universe as we understand it, you, me and what’s more, in this edit, the acceptable end for Yuki as he lives out his senior years at the Sanctuary.
What stands out so respectfully for me in the light of Yuki and his current predicament of daily life under the protection of the “Shy Wolf Sanctuary USA” is the volume of volunteers ready to give time and affection to an estranged ragged looking old animal wolf.
Now it turns out that Yuki is indeed a very special animal. One that his owner thought was an easy task to handle. Statistically, the numbers of successful WolfDog owners is stacked incredibly high towards outright failure. These hybrids are extremely difficult animals to manage and while it has been done successfully in a many homes, 99.99% of people are not capable of doing well.
Remarkably, this wonderful giant is so different from many other wolf hybrids. Tests carried out through DNA sampling revealed that he is for all intents and purposes a full-blooded wolf.
Observation by the Sanctuary team soon revealed how he naturally formed close bonds with some people, so much so that he becomes defensive of them. That is not something usually seen in the other resident animals as in most cases, if someone kicked in your front door, you can bet on your WolfDog being the first to run out the back door.
In 2018 SWS received a grant to DNA tests for all of their animals, which is why they know all their true contents now. In Yuki’s case, the test was astounding. He is 87.5% Gray Wolf, 8.6% Siberian Husky, and 3.9% German Shepherd. To be clear, it’s easier to accept that he is a true blooded Wolf.
As a point of interest, looking at an animal and determining what they are mixed with is called Phenotyping. An experienced WolfDog handler and keeper can tell pretty quickly from just looking at an animal if it has any wolf content and that is a very important factor for the Sanctuary within their rescue scope.
Yuki is one of the most obvious WolfDogs the centre has seen so it was an easy call to admit him into the group. The decision to DNA test him was unrelated. They would not normally spend hard-earned donations on something like a DNA test because of the experience to evaluate them individually based on behaviour not wolf percentage.
Yuki is one of the larger kept animals and has a reserved preference of being fondly attached to some of the female volunteers who help out regularly. In keeping with the tradition of Wolf behaviour, these chosen few female carers are affectionately referred to as his “Harem”. Brittany, the girl in the viral photo is a member. The relationship is one of complete affection to the point of being protective. In fact, it makes sense because his harem is very protective of him.
He enjoys the Sanctuary and can easily eat up to 10 lbs. of raw meat four times a week, in total, around 40 lbs. a week. That’s a good appetite in light of his senoir years. His temperament is steady considering that WolfDogs are normally very choosy about who they can be housed with. He has always resided with a female WolfDog named Bella and while Yuki is much larger than her, she is by far the dominant one.
Jasper is my favorite Shy Wolf…he is extremely shy, but such a regal looking man
I think Jasper is turning into a DireWolf 🙂
Thank you for your article and information to your readers.