Yes  many people have wolves as pets...even some on here....wado    I think one would have to begin taming it from birth since they have the wild instinct....Annie

Tracy,

I had a wolf hybrid which is what most people have. His name was Little Bear and he was beautiful. For a wolf, he was huge... 165lbs (40 lbs more than I weighed when I got him) and he had a lovely black coat. The part of him that wasn’t wolf was the really large breed German shepherd. My sons used to joke that he was the "California Surfer Wolf" because he had such a laid back attitude most of the time. He died about a year after I married my husband and we still haven’t gotten over losing him. My husband and I have thought many times about getting another wolf but there is a school near where we live now and I am afraid that the wolf might get hurt due to people's preconceived notions of what they are like.

Unless you have a special license you cannot own a full blooded wolf but many wolf hybrids are as pure or more pure than wolves roaming in populated areas because in both cases they carry some dog ancestry. You can legally own a wolf hybrid even if it is 98 or 99% wolf. (It used to be that people talked about the percentage an animal was but it wasn’t very accurate because you can have different offspring from the same mating be more or less wolf like. Now most wolf people speak in terms of high content, medium content and low content hybrids.)

Little Bear was medium content and well socialized so I was able to let him in the house and take him places. He slept in my room at night and used to howl at sirens on police and fire vehicles. Interesting way to wake up LOL He was great with my (then) teenage sons. But he also would scare the devil out of people who saw him if they had never met a wolf before.

Lower content wolf hybrids look more dog like and are easier to train. Higher content ones tend to be skittish around people and often cannot be socialized unless one is able to adapt to their lifestyle. (live in a rural area etc) Either way people should think long and hard before getting a wolf. Not because of the animals being bad but rather because of our lives not fitting their needs. They do not act like dogs and will never be dogs. They are much more intelligent and will be your companion instead of your pet. They definitely have a mind of their own.

Before Little Bear lived with me, he and his sister belonged to a man who let them run free where they could get into trouble End result, my poor baby had a limp most of his life because he was shot while hunting livestock. His sister was killed because she was caught. It was very irresponsible and should not have been allowed to happen. I also used to baby sit wolves for people when I was in my 20s. A lot of kennels will not keep them if you want to travel and I have seen people mess up in other ways. Like chaining them. Not kind with a dog and in many cases with wolves it is dangerous because they feel trapped and threatened. They are easily bored and will eat your furniture if they are left alone in the house to often. They need special pens that they cannot climb or jump out of�?and I am talking serious pens here. They absolutely HAVE to have a companion dog or wolf. Not all vets are willing to see them.

Forgive me if that was too much information but I tend to get on a soap box about the subject. I’m afraid I might do someone the injustice of giving them the idea that owning a wolf is like owning a dog and that is the last thing I want. Many wolves are abused or left homeless because people think they want a wolf and do not think about all having one entails. And please don’t think I discourage anyone from getting a wolf if they have a way to keep it safe, happy and healthy. Having a wolf gets complicated but to be honest I would give a great deal to be able to have another one day. Dogs somehow come up short in comparison even though I do love the ones I have. There is just this spark of self awareness that I miss.

If anyone reading this is thinking about getting a wolf for the first time please check online with one of the wolf rescue organizations because there are many homeless wolves who would make wonderful companions. Often they have wonderful personalities and their only “crime�?is being a wolf.

PJ