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Wolf? Umm.....
- Thread starter basscooker
- Start date
The dude is shorter than the minivan in the pic. Maybe the pic is skewed but the pic looks like a shorter guy walking a 50 pound dog.
Just cuz...
Here's some old pics. Pandora (great dane) was actually kinda small for her breed, about 110-115 lbs. She was waist-high at her shoulder at about 1 year, roughly when the pic of her standing next to me was taken. (Kayman) the Akita mix is in the foreground.
And for those who didn't know, great Danes are totally down with chilling on your lap and being lazzy-bones.
My car broke down in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Minnesota (if I recall) and we were basically screwed.
By total coincidence, I spotted this guy with a Wolf, and was pretty surprised / excited (The Thing is my favourite movie), so I struck up a conversation.
We had a really long chat, and I was hanging out with the Wolf (can't remember it's name, but I've got photos somewhere), and then the guys says "full disclosure; I just got out of prison - but if you're willing to trust me, I can tow you to a nearby hotel, order the parts for your car (an old BMW), and fix it tomorrow morning."
Well, I took him up on his offer, and he totally saved our bacon - just amazingly generous.
My spirit animal is wolves!
Previous to that experience, my Mums friend owned a small pack of wolves that appeared in a lot of movies, and music videos (The Company Of Wolves was one of their biggest gigs, back in the 80's).
Amazingly, that was not the most ridiculous pet my Mums friends owned - a different friend bought a Lion from Harrods (it's sibling was the subject of a documentary a few years ago, where the two guys that owned it released it back into the wild, and a couple of years later went in search of it, to see how it was getting on).
The whole thing sounded like some ridiculous debacle, straight out of Bringing Up Baby. The guys wife was constantly shampooing, and perfuming it (because it's basically a wild animal, and stinks).
One time, they went out for the evening (leaving the lion at their house), and when they got home realised the place had been burgled.
When they turned on the lights in the bedroom, they found the lion completely freaked out, and cowering in the corner - a pile of jewellery on the floor - and the window broken outwards.
The burglar must have had the fright of their life, when they met the guard dog, and just dived right out the window.
Anyway, when you own a Lion, you really just own a cub. As soon as it becomes a juvenile, it rapidly becomes quite literally too big a handful, and uncontrollable.
They gave it to a safari park, and were told never to come back to visit it.
By total coincidence, I spotted this guy with a Wolf, and was pretty surprised / excited (The Thing is my favourite movie), so I struck up a conversation.
We had a really long chat, and I was hanging out with the Wolf (can't remember it's name, but I've got photos somewhere), and then the guys says "full disclosure; I just got out of prison - but if you're willing to trust me, I can tow you to a nearby hotel, order the parts for your car (an old BMW), and fix it tomorrow morning."
Well, I took him up on his offer, and he totally saved our bacon - just amazingly generous.
My spirit animal is wolves!
Previous to that experience, my Mums friend owned a small pack of wolves that appeared in a lot of movies, and music videos (The Company Of Wolves was one of their biggest gigs, back in the 80's).
Amazingly, that was not the most ridiculous pet my Mums friends owned - a different friend bought a Lion from Harrods (it's sibling was the subject of a documentary a few years ago, where the two guys that owned it released it back into the wild, and a couple of years later went in search of it, to see how it was getting on).
The whole thing sounded like some ridiculous debacle, straight out of Bringing Up Baby. The guys wife was constantly shampooing, and perfuming it (because it's basically a wild animal, and stinks).
One time, they went out for the evening (leaving the lion at their house), and when they got home realised the place had been burgled.
When they turned on the lights in the bedroom, they found the lion completely freaked out, and cowering in the corner - a pile of jewellery on the floor - and the window broken outwards.
The burglar must have had the fright of their life, when they met the guard dog, and just dived right out the window.
Anyway, when you own a Lion, you really just own a cub. As soon as it becomes a juvenile, it rapidly becomes quite literally too big a handful, and uncontrollable.
They gave it to a safari park, and were told never to come back to visit it.
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Here's a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog. They definitely pull of the look of a Wolf. They get about 75 Pounds & 28" tall.
I'm actually hoping the new Pics show a bigger specimen. It would be pretty cool if it is a real wolf.
I'm actually hoping the new Pics show a bigger specimen. It would be pretty cool if it is a real wolf.
I'm gonna bet on dog, not wolf. There are some VERY wolfy looking dogs out there. Makes sense - the DNA is practically identical. If you observe mutt dogs, they all seem to revert toward a sort of wolf-coyote form; long nose, variegated coat in shades of tan and grey, longish legs, long back, upright ears, medium length coat. It takes a lot of selective breeding to keep Great Danes, Pekingese, Poodles, and Dachshunds looking like that.
The opening of this reminds me of a Greyhound bus ride from Houston to Dallas one time. That route, they always stopped in Centerville for a lunch break. I was sitting in the bus, waiting for it to pull out, just looking out the window, and I noticed (what I thought was) a truck in the gas station parking lot with a big tan dog standing in the bed, with a lead tying it. Then I did a double take. Nope, that guy had a freaking MOUNTAIN LION tied in the bed of his truck!
Pretty much zero chance anyone would mess with THAT truck.
If it is a full blown wolf? Then, there's actually an apex predator on both ends of the leash...
Seriously... it's pretty hard to acquire a 100% Wolf; and it would have to be a very small, young pup if you managed it. I's much more likely to be a Hybrid; much more Wolf than Dog, by the looks of it - but a Hybrid, nonetheless...
Another tangentially-related data point -
My first dog as an adult (me, not the dog) was fully half coyote. He had an independent streak (meaning, his off-leash recall was NEVER reliable) and could be completely self-reliant when necessary (I was a young, stupid, irresponsible off-campus college student, followed by two years of house-band musician), but he was ALWAYS wonderful with people; loved everybody and not a snarly bone in his body. He did NOT get along well with other male dogs. He lived until he was 17.5 years old, saw me get married, the birth of our three sons (well, not the ACTUAL birth), and our adoption of an 8-month-old male German Shepherd that needed a home. He was always great with the kids, and ruled the GSD... until, after four years, the GSD finally had had enough of his crap, and tore him a new one, kind of literally. He survived without any long-term injuries, but he was never quite the same afterwards... it was hard on him to have been "bested." Still, he was ALWAYS a great family dog.
Would I have a wolf hybrid? Yes, but I've only ever rescued dogs; never sought out a specific breed nor purchased one. Not to breed-shame ANY dog, but there are breeds out there with MUCH scarier breed-specific capabilities that plenty of people have as pets and characterize as sweet, loving creatures.... and they certainly can be (yes, sadly, I'm talking about Pitties)... but it's the capability that concerns me more than the temperament. I know, from experience, how to handle a GSD. It's the incredibly strong, stubborn dogs that have no fear nor sense of personal well-being that concern me more than lanky size and speed. I can pry a GSD's jaws open.
To an earlier post, though... I, too, share great disdain for rich dingbats that purchase "exotic pets" to be cool, without knowing how to TRULY care for them and without concern for the damage that could be caused. Although I'd consider giving a home to a needy wolf-hybrid, I would not seek one out.
My first dog as an adult (me, not the dog) was fully half coyote. He had an independent streak (meaning, his off-leash recall was NEVER reliable) and could be completely self-reliant when necessary (I was a young, stupid, irresponsible off-campus college student, followed by two years of house-band musician), but he was ALWAYS wonderful with people; loved everybody and not a snarly bone in his body. He did NOT get along well with other male dogs. He lived until he was 17.5 years old, saw me get married, the birth of our three sons (well, not the ACTUAL birth), and our adoption of an 8-month-old male German Shepherd that needed a home. He was always great with the kids, and ruled the GSD... until, after four years, the GSD finally had had enough of his crap, and tore him a new one, kind of literally. He survived without any long-term injuries, but he was never quite the same afterwards... it was hard on him to have been "bested." Still, he was ALWAYS a great family dog.
Would I have a wolf hybrid? Yes, but I've only ever rescued dogs; never sought out a specific breed nor purchased one. Not to breed-shame ANY dog, but there are breeds out there with MUCH scarier breed-specific capabilities that plenty of people have as pets and characterize as sweet, loving creatures.... and they certainly can be (yes, sadly, I'm talking about Pitties)... but it's the capability that concerns me more than the temperament. I know, from experience, how to handle a GSD. It's the incredibly strong, stubborn dogs that have no fear nor sense of personal well-being that concern me more than lanky size and speed. I can pry a GSD's jaws open.
To an earlier post, though... I, too, share great disdain for rich dingbats that purchase "exotic pets" to be cool, without knowing how to TRULY care for them and without concern for the damage that could be caused. Although I'd consider giving a home to a needy wolf-hybrid, I would not seek one out.
An old mechanic I knew back in the 70's raised wolf hybrids. They were beautiful animals, that's all I remember. This was in the sleepy suburban city of Richardson, Texas. 
Curious....
Admittedly it was years ago I saw the film,but was your story referring to Christian?
Crazy I didn't ask months ago. Here we are in a thread I started and most likely read this reply; how I wouldn't have thought of that film escapes me.
For any who have not seen the film/ doc/ story (IIRC) "Christian the lion" (or similarly named) it's an entertaining, educational and emotional journey.
I absolutely (tough-guy BS be damned) teared up by the end.
I've been watching the neighborhood folks. I just plain haven't seen them out. Maybe they've moved.
I am a "big dog" fella. No "purse dog" fan here. If there's a canid in my family it's a biggun: see earlier pics of my Daney and Akita mix earlier in the thread. My chef life no longer allows me to have pups. They need Dad for more time than I have to offer. It would be irresponsible of me to leave for 15-16 hours a day with them locked in a house without their human.
That's right; Christian was the sibling of my Mum's friends lion.
In fact, the story had a somewhat similar end : a year or two after they gave the lion to the safari park, curiosity got the better of him, and ignoring the parks instruction he secretly drove through as a paying customer.
When he got to the lion enclosure, he soon spotted her amongst the pride covered in scars, and with nicks out of her ears, where she had had to fight for her place whilst settling in.
He was naturally a bit upset, and stupidly wound the window down, and called her name.
She immediately reacted, and excitedly bounded over to the car, and straight up to him, at which point it suddenly occurred to him that this was a terrible idea, and she was now practically a wild adult lioness.
He drove straight out of there, in floods of tears, leaving her looking confused and heartbroken (or perhaps just hungery), and never went back.
