He is NOT on the Tour Path.
Crow’s story is a very controversial one with many different versions, depending on who is telling the story. The one thing we know for certain is that he was born at a fur farm/petting zoo, where his owner charged visitors different fees to interact with a large variety of wild animals. Some of the people who visited the farm gave it good reviews citing kind staff and well-cared for animals, while others gave it completely opposite reviews, citing small cages and horrible conditions. The owner faced controversy and court battles for many years and was eventually forced to shut down due to local zoning issues.
During the years that the business was still up and running, the owner made no secret about breeding and selling wolfdogs as pets, while also selling the pelts of various species. Publicly, her story was that she only sold the pelts of her wolfdogs after they died of natural causes; however, several articles quote her saying the opposite in court case depositions. In the quotes, she admitted that she waited until winter when the wolfdog coats were at their most beautiful, then slaughtered as many as the fur market dictated. Answering the question of how many wolfdogs she would kill and pelt, she admitted she had already euthanized two and was going to slaughter a total of 27 more over a 3-week period.
In 2018, the farm was again facing time in court with more nuisance complaints and rezoning issues. We received reports about the highly-contested court battle and the possibility of all her animals needing places to go. Our Director made contact with the owner to get more information, try to clear up some of the controversies, and finalize plans to rescue some of her wolfdogs if she had to close. Ultimately, she lost her case and we were able to offer permanent homes for four of her male wolfdogs, Crow, Sioux, Bear, and Chiracowa.
Fortunately for all involved, the four boys were extremely social and comfortable around people. Loading them into our rescue van was much easier than usual. The boys had never left their enclosures or been on a leash, so they were simply picked up and tossed over their caretaker’s shoulder! The owner was very cooperative, although seemed truly devastated by the loss of her animals.
Since his arrival at Wild Spirit, Crow has remained quite shy in comparison to the rest of the boys, who have now passed over the years. That being said, he has had a few favorite people over the years, who he will approach for hand sniffs and some affection. After arriving at the sanctuary, Crow was paired up with low-content wolfdog, Honey, who is just as shy as he is, if not more! Fortunately, the two are well matched and get along splendidly.
