COCHRANE— The Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary has reached its goal of raising $160,000 for several new enclosures for 10 rescued wolfdogs that have called the Sanctuary home since last October.
Thirteen total dogs were rescued in October, ten of which are wolfdogs. The other three are sled dogs and have been housed at a separate dog shelter.
The enclosures for the dogs are typically about two acres, which gives the animals plenty of space to express their natural tendencies, explore and hide from the public if they are feeling shy or uncomfortable.
The construction process includes installing eight-foot-high fences, two feet of overhang and electric sections to prevent climbing, double-gated entrances and dig guards.
“With the help of Sakura's Hope Foundation's for matching donations made to this campaign dollar for dollar up to $50,000, the BrindleBerry Acres bunch for raising just over $36,000 for the wolfdogs through their 2022 Calendar Contest as well as all of our Wolfdog Warrior and Enclosure Founder's we were able to raise a grand total of $195,981.14 by April 5,” said Alyx Harris, operations manager with the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary.
Harris added that the excess funds will be used for a fourth enclosure as well as other enrichment structures for the resident canines.
Harris said the staff of the Sanctuary were “totally in disbelief” that they were able to reach their goal.
“It’s a lot of money and to be able to do that in spite of the whole situation of the world— It’s a whole other factor of it. So it's exciting that we were able to get where we needed to get,” she said.
Harris said the structures are installed and a few final touches are being put on the enclosures before the wolfdogs move into their new permanent homes. They should be making the move in the next few weeks, she said.
The wolfdogs have been living in a temporary living space since their rescue, and have made many behavioural improvements since coming to the Sanctuary. Harris said she is excited to see their progress continue as they move into the larger enclosures where they have enough space to feel comfortable and safe.
“Probably the most rewarding part of it is when everyone is fully moved into those nice big enclosures and they fully get to just decompress and relax in those nice big spaces,” she said.
Although the Sanctuary is not able to elaborate on where the wolfdogs came from, Harris did say the dogs are doing as well as the staff could have hoped for given the environment from which they were rescued.
“They’ve made leaps and bounds. They are pretty much all high-content wolfdogs with minimal socialization,” she said. “They’ve now gotten to the point that they know when we humans come in with a bucket, we’ve got food and nice goodies for them. They totally have that positive association.”
The Yamnuska Wolfdogs Sanctuary is still open to the public although at reduced capacity due to the recent COVID-19 restrictions.
Bookings for interactive tours and Sanctuary walks can be made online at Yamnuskawolfdogsanctuary.com/.
