This wolf was going to be killed for her fur, but now her funny antics are making her internet famous. In Illinois, a fur farm was holding Zoey and her sisters. They were going to be skinned for their fur. The wolves were treated like scum, with only food thrown on the ground and never receiving any attention.
They were kept in a cage their whole life, not given love or treated humanely. This fur farm got shut down when their license wasn’t renewed. They had been keeping the wolves illegally. These dogs weren’t even full wolf!
They were just more than 50 percent, which categorizes them as wolf dogs. The other percentage are domestic breeds.
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Zoey had never been away from her wolf family. When the fur farm shut down, the authorities didn’t know what to do with her. They had to look to other states where it’s legal to keep a wolf dog, and Zoey ended up getting separated from her sisters and going to Colorado.
She ended up at W.O.L.F. Sanctuary. The organization only had room and funds to take one more dog. Dogs certainly have emotions, because she stopped eating for a while. The change was hard on Zoey, but someone was there to cheer her up.
Her new friend Pax became a fun playmate. He is also a wolf and helped her learn how to interact with humans. According to her handlers, Zoey is a gentle wolf and never wants to harm anyone. She has developed a fun game you will see in the video below.
She likes to sneak up and take things from people and run away with them. It’s a funny game she plays to get attention, and it’s totally harmless. She steals gloves, shovels, balls and even tried to take someone’s shoe right off of their foot.
The rescue efforts for wolves needs all the help it can get. Zoey was malnourished and had tons of parasites when she was rescued. Her cute video is helping to raise awareness about wolf rescue and advocacy groups like W.O.L.F. Sanctuary. Other similar organizations are Wolf Connection based in California and The Grey Wolf which operates in Wisconsin.
Zooey used to be afraid of people because she wasn’t raised in a loving environment. She would run away from them. Now she is able to live a happy life instead of being in a cage exposed to the elements without protection. She jumps up and down when her food is being delivered, and she likes to play keep away like wolf cubs do in their packs.
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She has learned to interact with humans and not be afraid of them. She is now healthy, because she is getting proper food and can move around and play. Zoey got a second chance and as people learn about these groups, more cute wolf dogs will be able to recover and live a happy life too.
The animal care director of the organization is Michelle Proulx and the executive director is Shelley Coldiron. One of the women that helped rescue Zoey is Susan Weidel. These women are making a difference in the world by sticking up for animals who have been abused.
Before, Zoey didn’t even have a clean water bowl to drink out of. The fur farm she was raised at mainly raised foxes but also had wolf dogs. It makes you wonder how many other fur farms are doing illegal things and will be brought to justice.
