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.