The Wolf-dogs of Henderson County

It wasn’t the kind of rescue Toney Wade is accustomed to.
In his past endeavors, he’s operated a rescue operation for abused and neglected animals, and founded a search and rescue operation for missing persons.
Wolf-dogs are a different matter altogether.
He was contacted by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department in Texas a few weeks ago.
“There was a guy who was breeding hybrid wolves (breeding wolves with German shepherds) on this property,” Wade said. “He committed suicide. They (sheriff’s department) had been tending to the dogs for almost two weeks, feeding them every day, but they couldn’t find anybody to help them.”
Prior to his death, the property owner was selling hybrid wolf-dog puppies at prices in the range of $800-1,000 each.
The sheriff’s department reached out to Tia Torres, founder of Villalobo Rescue Center in New Orleans, for whom Wade works. “Tia decided we’d take on the challenge, so we went up there,” Wade said.
“We were just not prepared, for what we walked into.”
There were “wolves everywhere” on the property. “We had a couple wolves that had been already shot, so we started trying to trap them.”
There were many enclosures on the property that still held captive wolf-dogs. Wade said other rescues came in from Arkansas, Oklahoma and North Texas “to take animals. Not every state will allow you to have any percentage of wolf. Regular animal rescues aren’t going to take on wolf-dogs.’
“We don’t know what the percentage (of hybrid) the dogs are. We’ve got some that are really ‘wolfy’ and some that just look like dogs.”
The teams and volunteers had no idea how many animals were out and about; Wade was told there were 40-50 at first, but further study by fellow volunteer Brie Stephens indicated as many as 90.
“I was walking by all these enclosures and I could see trails through them,” Wade said. “Animal control said there’s no wolves (free), and I said, yes, there are.”
So estimating the overall numbers was challenging, Wade said, because the free wolves were likely breeding together for an unknown time in the woods. “I counted 37 on the property,” he said. “We know there were 10-12 living near a pipeline off the property, and three more on the other side of the property. I think it’ll be 50-60 wolf-dogs.”
Incidentally, some of the late owner’s customers told the teams that many of the puppies they purchased were diseased and with many health issues. “None of them had ever seen a veterinarian,” Wade said. “They didn’t know what a vet was. We found a bunch of bottles of 7-in-1 vaccinations. I’m sure he was giving those to the puppies he was catching himself, because you can’t deal with the adults, they’re mean.”
There is one group of animals with a member that Wade named Black, and another they called Lt. Dan. “They’ll come out and see” when things happen in the compound. “I walk the enclosure, walk the enclosure, and you don’t see them. I come out of the enclosure and shut the gate and I see heads pop up everywhere! So I walked right by and didn’t know they were there.
“They are masters of disguise.”
If a wolf-dog is captured in a trap and gets free, they’ll never be trapped again. “They’re so smart, they’ll try to get in under the cage to get to the food,” Wade said. “You can’t outsmart them.”
Despite the oppressive heat, long working days and stress of dealing with what are truly wild animals, Wade nonetheless developed a sort of bond with the hybrid, Black.
“I always knew he showed a little aggression,” Wade said. “But I never thought he’d follow through with it.”
Black was in his enclosure, an acre-sized one, and Wade went to feed him.
“He was barking at me, raising some sand, and when I saw him bouncing on his front feet, I realized that’s true aggression,” he said. “He wants me out of here. I started backing away and he charged me, bit me on my left hand.
“Then he let me go and started growling at me, and I knew it was a warning.”
During the rescue operation, Wade received news of the death of someone back home, and “I was just really upset that morning. And Black’s out, and he wants to act a fool now. I hollered at him, told him I wasn’t going to put up with that today, really hollered and got on his case. It surprised him, and he just walked to his enclosure. Never barked at me again when he was out. I guess he figured this is mine, that is his. He’s a trip, I love him, he’s my favorite.”
Wade has spent weeks there, and is headed back, sporting a souvenir from Black.
“We thought Black was getting out,” he said. “So we took some of the big dog kennels and kinda built one over the front door. I get there one morning and Black was out, and he wouldn’t go in that enclosure. I started dragging the enclosure off, and my finger got mashed in it. I couldn’t reach around with my left hand to pull the thing back so I was stuck.”
Meanwhile, Black and Lt. Dan were “pretty close to me. I just yanked my hand out, cut the knuckle and broke the finger. So, a broken finger or a dog bite…let’s take the finger!”
Wade added that there was a medical crew on site, and the medic told him, “You know, I’ve got a medical waste bag about half full, and it’s all you!”
There were other wolf-dogs that caught his attention, one they called Thin Man in particular. “I’ve still yet to see him, just on camera,” Wade said. “Nobody’s seen him. He would get out of the enclosure during the day and come back at night. We finally got him on camera and saw how skinny he was that we really ramped up the effort to get him.”
Though wolves are solitary animals, Thin Man was a loner, possibly because he was ill and his pack kicked him out. He was finally caught and transported to New Orleans.
“What we’re going to do is create him a pack,” Wade said. “We have two (females), we’re going to put him with them, have a little pack going for him again, if he’s healthy enough to go back.”
The animals are being sent to rescue facilities that can handle them, including Refuge Ridge in Kentucky. “Some older ladies that have a rescue,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen something that beautiful. They really have their act together, those dogs are doing excellent.”
Yet, there is “still so much to do,” Wade said.
The rescue operation has been filmed by a production company for Animal Planet. Stephens is also associated with the television program Pitbulls and Parolees.
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