Archie Dunbar, 7, smiles with puppy Biscuit, one of at least nine dogs born in Haines this spring that the state suspects could be part wolf. The owner of the litter’s mother said she might have inadvertently mated with a gray wolf in a rural part of the borough. Wolfdogs are illegal to breed or possess in Alaska.
Not every day does a wild wolf mate with a domestic dog.
But a handful of local puppies born in February might be the product of such an occurrence, which biologists say is rare but not impossible.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) is investigating at least nine pups born at 35 Mile Haines Highway that might be wolfdogs, which are illegal to breed or possess in Alaska.
“Somebody contacted me and said they were under the impression there were some dogs running loose in an area where wolf activity was heard,” said ADFG wildlife biologist Carl Koch.
One of the dogs in the litter registered as 50% wolf on an Embark dog DNA test, Koch said. State wildlife managers are awaiting results from more accurate laboratory testing at the University of California, Davis, to prove whether or not the dogs have wolf in them.
“We had a really weird situation here in the winter,” said Seandog Brownell, who owns the litter’s mother. “Our dogs just stopped eating their dog food for 10 days. There was all sorts of commotion up on the hillside. … We followed their tracks and found a dead mountain goat that they were eating.”
In hindsight, Brownell said he suspects the mother, Inja, a lab, could’ve mated with a wild wolf at that time on or near his property.
Inja had 10 pups in her litter, Brownell said.
The state sent samples from six of the dogs to the California lab. Koch said results are expected in a month.
“We know there are more (dogs) and are working with the folks involved to obtain contact information for anyone who owns one of the dogs,” Koch said in an email.
A female dog, like a bear, can have a single litter with puppies from different fathers, so it’s possible some but not all of the dogs are wolf hybrids.
Some scientists contend that domestic dogs are a separate species (Canis familiaris) from gray wolf (Canis lupus), but others say dogs are a subspecies (Canis lupus familiaris).
“It gets very complicated. It’s a current point of a lot of contention in the scientific community,” said Liz Wilson, educator at the International Wolf Center, a Minnesota-based wolf education organization.
The two animals can produce fertile offspring. Humans first domesticated wolves during the last Ice Age, sometime between 15,000 and 25,000 years ago. Exactly when and where is debated by scientists. All breeds of domestic dog – from chihuahua to husky – are the same species, a descendant from that now-extinct species of wolf.
If any of the Haines pups are part wolf, they won’t be allowed to remain in Alaska long term. But the dogs are considered legal until ADFG receives lab results.
“Technically it’s a dog until we know it’s not,” Koch said. “That’s what makes this all so complicated. If it were a bear in someone’s yard, it would be straightforward.”
Brownell started a GoFundMe page Tuesday to raise money for vaccinations, rabies shots, dog food and transportation to new homes for the dogs.
“That’s what we’re trying to do right now – find them a place where they can go before the state takes them away,” Brownell said.
Five puppies are now in Brownell’s care. A few were returned by owners, but not all remain in the Valley. Some were taken to Juneau and others already are out of state, Brownell said.
Haines resident Jennifer Marschke gifted son, Archie, a puppy for his seventh birthday, in April. He picked out the dog, named Biscuit.
“I just assumed that he was part husky,” Marschke said. “We didn’t think wolf was a possibility because it’s really rare for something like that to occur.” Then Marschke found out that a pup from the same litter tested as half wolf.
“I was concerned, so I called HARK (Haines Animal Rescue Kennel), and I was going to give him to HARK to foster … but they can’t foster wild animals.”
Marschke said at a meeting with Alaska Wildlife Troopers and ADFG she and other possible wolfdog owners were told they have three options before lab results come back: euthanize their dogs at HARK; send them to a sanctuary out of state; or keep them leashed or in a cage, away from people.
Marschke said she couldn’t do the latter because the lease on her house ended this month and she is traveling in a van with her son. She returned Biscuit to Brownell, who is working on plans to send at least five of the puppies out of Alaska.
“It’s just sad. It’s really sad,” Marschke said.
Koch said the state is “doing everything possible to avoid” euthanizing the pups. He said ADFG has been in touch with sanctuaries in states where wolfdogs are legal and he’s “pretty optimistic” the dogs will be transferred somewhere legal and safe.
Public safety is one of the state’s concerns with wolfdogs, which Koch said are among the dogs most likely to bite humans. A 2002 state statute made possession, purchase, sale and transportation of wolfdogs illegal.
Brownell said the dogs from the litter all look different and a few are shy, but he suspects “some or all of them” could be part wild. He isn’t sure if they are wolf, coyote or something else, though.
“It’s hard to imagine they’re vicious predators,” Brownell said. “They don’t bite. They don’t really act like wolves. … They’re the chillest, most relaxed puppies we’ve had around.”
Koch said dogs that are part wolf don’t always look or act like wolves. “Remember that at most they’re half wolf, so not acting like wolves doesn’t mean they aren’t part wolf.”
Another concern is that domestic dogs breeding with wolves or other canids can negatively affect the genetics of wild populations, Koch said.
Koch said the state has dealt with wolf hybrids before but he doesn’t know of another instance in Alaska in which a wolf mated in the wild with a domestic dog. Still, given the state’s size and remoteness, he said he would be surprised if it had never happened.
Wilson, at the International Wolf Center, said she has heard of wolves mating with dogs in the wild but that “it’s really rare.”
“Usually wolves are very territorial,” she said. “If they have an established pack, then odds are they will kill a domestic dog if they find one in their territory.”
Wilson said reproduction between wolves and dogs most frequently occurs when a wolf is in captivity. In the wild, she said, it usually involves a lone male in an area with a low wolf population density and few potential mates.
She said even wolfdogs that are bred in captivity often end up being surrendered and euthanized because they can be difficult to place in sanctuaries.
They “have really high levels of unpredictability. They can be aggressive. They still have high prey instincts,” she said.
Wolfdogs can be owned legally as pets in about 20 states. Ownership is restricted in some states and illegal in others, including Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan and several more.