How Texas wolfdog sanctuaries give another chance at life to special animals

By Heide Brandes Feb 17, 2025

Dawn at Twin Rivers Wolf and Wolfdog Sanctuary north of Houston begins with the howls of dozens of wolfdogs greeting the day. The sound is eerie and untamed, a song that belongs in the far reaches of the wilderness instead of the rural lands around Iola.

Founder Catherine Howell and her volunteers arrive early to begin the intensive daily routine of caring for these mostly still-wild animals, some who look as if they belong in a pack hunting elk rather than behind a fence in southeast Texas.

A wolfdog is an animal that straddles two worlds, the result of breeding between a wild wolf and domestic dog. For some of Twin Rivers' wolfdogs, the wild wolf ancestry dominates, visible in everything from wary movements to their powerful build. That untamed heritage makes these canines magnificent to behold in the forested hills just north of Houston, but it's also what makes them vulnerable in the wrong hands.

Across North America, wolfdog sanctuaries are fighting an uphill battle against time, money and human nature. About 90 percent of wolfdogs are euthanized before age 2, with countless others victims of unprepared owners or unscrupulous breeders. That means sanctuaries like Twin Rivers  represent their best chance at survival. Yet these safe havens are themselves struggling, overwhelmed by endless rescues and crushing operational costs while facing a tangle of contradictory regulations that often do more to protect irresponsible breeding than the animals themselves.

Wolfdog sanctuaries may be all that so many of these animals have, but much like their outcast wards, the facilities’ backs are against the wall.

The call of the wild

There are three general types of wolfdogs. Low-content wolfdogs are anywhere from 1 to 49 percent wolf and generally behave more like dogs; mid-content wolfdogs are between 50 and 85 percent wolf and can vary in look and behavior; high-content wolfdogs are between 85 and 99 percent wolf. These wolfdogs are not recommended for domestication.

It's illegal own a pure wolf in the United States, as they are classified as an endangered and regulated species. It's widely illegal in most states and in much of Canada to own a high-content wolfdog. Texas relies on counties to regulate wolfdog ownership, creating a patchwork of rules that many breeders seeking that "call of the wild" feel exploit.

Social media and popular culture help to romanticize wolfdog ownership, but most potential breeders aren't prepared for the task. Articles like “19 Majestic Wolf Dog Breeds to Welcome Into Your Family” downplay the challenges of raising these breeds, while hashtags like #wolfdogsofinstagram drum up interest in ownership.

"It's all about having something that's exotic," Howell said. "But there's also a lot of misrepresentation that goes on with wolfdogs."

That misrepresentation can be deadly. Many owners discover too late that wolfdogs require specialized care, extensive space, and unique understanding of their behavior. Common challenges include destructive tendencies that far exceed typical puppy behavior, escape-artist abilities, complex social needs that transcend typical pet ownership, and legal complications.

"I see it increasing because so many people who are buying puppies are now wanting to breed," Howell said. “That’s just going to lead to more animals being brought to sanctuaries or put down. We need to educate the public about the realities and challenges of owning wolfdogs.”

Daily challenges of a sanctuary

While exact numbers are difficult to verify, less than two dozen legitimate wolfdog sanctuaries operate across North America. In Texas alone, several facilities work to meet the growing need, including Twin Rivers, the Texas Wolfdog Project in Austin and Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary. These sanctuaries form a loose network, sometimes collaborating to handle large-scale rescues or special cases.

Nestled in Grimes County, Twin Rivers spreads across nearly 10 acres of rural land, where Howell's journey began with a single rescue in 2000. That first wolfdog, which she cared for until losing him to cancer nine years later, sparked a passion that would shape her life's work.

After adopting three more wolfdogs from Oklahoma's Freedom Song sanctuary, Howell purchased a wolfdog puppy named Yukon in 2015. But her sanctuary's true genesis came in 2016 when she took in six wolfdogs from a troubled breeder in Idaho who, according to Howell, ran afoul with local officials for unregulated breeding. What started as temporary housing evolved into a permanent mission when the breeder resumed breeding against agreements, leading Howell to formally establish Twin Rivers as a nonprofit in 2019.

There, Howell cares for 46 wolfdogs, many surrendered by owners who were unprepared for the reality of caring for these complex animals.

"Wolfdogs need specific containment," Howell said. "They're huge problem solvers. You can't just get one and stick it in a little pen somewhere and think it's going to be happy."

Each enclosure requires thorough cleaning, and feeding time is a carefully choreographed operation that must account for each animal's specific needs and hierarchies within packs.

"It's a lot of cleaning, feeding, watering, socializing, petting, brushing," Howell said about her daily routine at Twin Rivers. "You're always making sure everybody's okay. I'm out there day and night, and it's just constant wolfdogs."

The complexity of care extends far beyond basic maintenance. Many newly arrived wolfdogs require months or even years of patient socialization before they'll trust their caretakers.

"With my first group, it took me almost a year to be able to touch any of them," Howell said. "Now I can walk them all on a leash and catch them. If you work with them long enough, and you show them care and love and good food, they're gonna bond with you."

In June 2011, the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary opened in Calgary, Alberta, to drive public awareness and education surrounding wolfdogs and wolves in the wild. The sanctuary allows visitors to meet wolfdogs in person and learn about their unique nature, but also works to reduce backyard breeding of these animals and the connected importance of wolf conservation.

"These guys do best if they have a decent amount of space to roam around," said Lindsay Horobin, an interpreter and animal care attendant at Yamnuska, where 61 wolfdogs now call home. "They're not going to be easy to train to go into crates or wear collars and leashes. So many things we take for granted with our domestic dogs, like just taking them to the vet, can be a really big challenge."

Fighting legality

The United States Department of Agriculture considers wolfdogs domestic animals, Howell said. The USDA's Animal Welfare Act sets rigorous standards for facilities housing exotic animals, requiring detailed documentation of veterinary care, feeding protocols and facility maintenance. To obtain an exhibitor's permit, sanctuaries must pass comprehensive inspections covering everything from enclosure specifications to waste-management systems. Facilities must demonstrate proper food storage and preparation areas, maintain detailed health records for each animal, and establish emergency protocols. The application process alone can take months, requiring extensive documentation, site visits and proof of adequate financial resources.

Even after approval, facilities face regular unannounced inspections and must maintain exhaustive records of animal acquisition, disposition and daily care—requirements that can overwhelm smaller sanctuaries already struggling with limited staff and resources.

Sanctuary operators and advocates are also pushing for stricter breeding regulations. They say because regulation varies by state, even by county in Texas' case, breeders are taking advantage of dangerous loopholes. Though pure wolves require strict permits, breeders can find ways to breed and sell wolfdogs without oversight, even when the wolfdogs are genetically almost identical to their wild cousins.

"If somebody was going to get specific lineages and try to improve that lineage and do it on a limited basis, that's different from what's going on right now," Howell said. "What's going on right now is unregulated breeding, and it’s hideous in a lot of cases."

On the edge at the sanctuary

Along with needing the proper permitting, wolfdog sanctuary owners also need substantial financial resources. A single proper enclosure can cost between $30,000 and $50,000 to construct, with specialized fencing that must be both tall enough to prevent jumping and reinforced to prevent digging.

Food costs alone can be staggering. At Twin Rivers, monthly feeding expenses reached $3,200 before pandemic-related price increases drove costs even higher. High-content wolfdogs can't survive on standard kibble alone and require raw meat and specialized diets that drive up expenses.

"Everything is overwhelming," Howell said. "I'm not fully funded, and I need to get funding, and it's hard to find it."

After her husband's passing in 2023, Howell had to get creative with funding solutions, including partnerships with local stores for meat donations and exploring tourism opportunities once their USDA exhibitor's permit is approved. That can take four to six weeks minimum and is followed by a pre-licensing inspection and a veterinarian-signed Program of Veterinary Care Form.

Finding suitable space can also be a challenge, as Karen Lilly, founder of Oklahoma’s Freedom Song Sanctuary, discovered. Her efforts to establish a wolfdog sanctuary crumbled after she was unable to find space that was secluded and affordable.

At Yamnuska, educational tours help offset costs while also serving the mission of public education. Visitors must follow strict protocols like sitting quietly in designated areas and allowing the wolfdogs to approach on their own terms, creating a careful balance required in working with these animals. Then, they learn about wolfdog behavior through carefully managed encounters. Twin Rivers is working toward public education programs. Both facilities emphasize the importance of understanding these animals' true nature before considering ownership.

But every day, these sanctuaries are living in a precarious world, constantly fighting the greater perception of wolfdogs while battling for their livelihoods. For the wolfdogs themselves, sanctuaries represent a last chance at life. Their yellow eyes still hold that ancient wariness, but there's often something else there, too—the possibility of trust, earned through patience and understanding.