Fenris joined the Big Pack in the Sky on October 13th, 2025.
He was assisted at 9 years old due to lymphoma.
Fenris was born in April 11th, 2016 and arrived December 31st, 2022.
In December of 2022, Wild Spirit was asked to make a miracle come true by taking in five high-content wolfdogs in need of urgent rescue after their owner passed away. At the time, we were beyond our maximum capacity, with not a single empty enclosure for new intakes. While we wanted nothing more than to save these animals’ lives, we weren’t sure it was possible with our limited resources…
Fortunately, we weren’t alone in wanting to see this rescue through, and in a matter of days an entire team of people from across the country had agreed to assist us in going to get the animals AND putting up five new enclosures once we got back home with them! Thanks to this massive show of support, we made plans to retrieve the animals, meeting up with half our team in Kansas while the other half stayed behind to work on constructing the new enclosures.
After arriving at the owner’s property and seeing the animals for the first time, it was clear they were all experiencing extremely high levels of stress following the loss of their owner, and as a result of our presence as well. As such, we quickly came up with a game plan for getting the animals out of their enclosures, vetted, and into the rescue van as quickly as possible. Thanks to the experience and teamwork of all involved, this process went off without a hitch, and within a matter of hours, all five wolfdogs had been seen by the vet and loaded for transport!
Before leaving the property we learned of three additional high-content wolfdogs also living on-site (one who has since passed), surprising everyone in our group as they hadn’t been mentioned in previous conversations. We decided to ask the owner’s wife whether they needed placement as well. She said they did but she hadn’t thought to ask due to their age, assuming we wouldn’t want them. We advised that while we didn’t have any empty enclosures at the moment, we would be willing to come back for them as soon as possible if placement was needed. She agreed, and we made plans to return for them as soon as we’re able.
Of the five new rescues, Fenris was the oldest, but was in remarkably good shape despite nearly being a senior. He lived with his sister Freya, who he was very deeply bonded with. Since arriving back at the sanctuary, Fenris proved to be an absolute love with the majority of our staff! This was extremely surprising, as he was described as being so aggressive that only his owner could go in the enclosure with him.
Personality
Fenris was a teddybear at heart, but loved to create the illusion that he was this large, menancing wolf. When he met new people, or approached the fence for tours, he would always puff himself up and hiss to show off his pearly whites; peacocking was the most apt description of the behavior! However, when he was no longer afraid of a person, he would instantly drop all pretenses of the big, bad wolf and melt in your presence. Kisses, pets, and scent rubs were always to be expected when interacting with this loving boy.
Relationships
Fenris lived with his sister and lifelong companion, Freya. He also had two sons on property, Mowgli and Sitka, as well as a grandchild named Bjorn.
Likes & Dislikes
Fenris loved Freya, as well as receiving ample affection from many caretakers at our sanctuary.
Fenris disliked anyone trying to take his food, bones, or enrichment, or any new scary people approaching his enclosure.
Fun Facts
Fenris was our resident hissing wolf! You heard that right. When Fenris felt frightened by the presence of a new human, he would open his maw and start hissing away at them. In similar circumstances, many wolves will produce a huffing sound, but Fenris’ huff sounded more akin to a snake than your average wolf. It left many interesting impressions on our guests.
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