Oni joined the Big Pack in the Sky on November 15th, 2020.

She was assisted at 9 years old due to a lesion on her spine that left her unable to stand.

Oni was born in February of 2011, and she arrived at Wild Spirit in November of 2015. She was originally purchased from a breeder when she was four months old. Her new owner didn’t realize until she brought Oni home that she had not been socialized, and at four months old, the window of opportunity was rapidly closing. Naturally, Oni was very anxious and shy. She never liked to be approached, and she wasn’t very happy about wearing a collar or a leash, which of course made it difficult to do anything with her. Not only was it difficult for her owner to interact with her, but it was traumatic and stressful for Oni.

Oni’s owner never gave up on her and worked hard to make her more secure and comfortable over the next several years. Unfortunately, changes in her financial situation forced her to leave her remote ranch and move back into the city. With the help of family, she transformed her driveway into an enclosure for Oni the length of her house, which worked well for a while. Gradually, the noise and activity of the city made Oni even more anxious. Her owner could still play with Oni in the yard and the enclosure, but anytime Oni would go out on a leash, something noisy would startle her. Soon, Oni decided she would no longer allow anyone to leash her.

In time, Oni developed a non-contagious skin condition. Her owner wanted to take Oni to the vet to get her some treatment, but because Oni would no longer tolerate a leash or collar, she couldn’t get to the vet. Even routine visits, like vaccines, were impossible. Unable to provide even the most basic care for her beloved wolfdog, the owner decided she needed to find a better place for Oni.

She began contacting rescues and sanctuaries. During the first week of searching, an unusually wet storm hit her town and one of the dig guards in Oni’s enclosure collapsed, allowing her to break free for a day. Local animal control got calls from many residents thinking there was a coyote on the loose. Fortunately, Oni made it home safely after her big adventure, but thanks to the volume of calls, animal control wanted to take her away. The owner pleaded with them, explaining that she was already in contact with several rescues and sanctuaries. Animal control agreed not to take her only if she could find a sanctuary to accept Oni.

While Oni’s owner searched for sanctuary, Wild Spirit found ourselves with five “bachelor” residents looking for companions. Although we never breed our rescues, we know life is better with a friend for social animals like canines. We made the careful decision to accept Oni for lifetime care at Wild Spirit with the intention of pairing her with one of our lonely boys. Thanks to a successful Fundrazr campaign, we quickly raised funds and made the trip to pick her up, finally get her to the vet for proper care, and of course, have her spayed.

While recovering in our animal care office after being spayed, Oni demonstrated her escape-artist skills. Somehow, this smart girl opened her travel cage and made herself at home on top of the counter, looking out the window at her new home. Living in close quarters with our animal care team, Oni grew fairly comfortable with our staff. Her skin condition cleared up, her spay incision healed, and we were able to leash her and take her out to explore her new home!

On her first walks of the sanctuary, we introduced her to each of our bachelors by taking her to visit them at their habitats. They were all interested in her, but she was very aloof and showed no signs of wanting to meet any of our boys. After several walks together with high-content wolfdog, Zoerro, we felt that he and Oni would do best together. We introduced her into his habitat and kept close watch over the next several days. Their relationship was not perfect, but they respected each other and made it work. After Zoerro left with his former owner, Oni moved in with Zeus. After some initial disagreements over food, they proved to be a good match.