Irwin joined the Big Pack in the Sky on December 22nd, 2024.
He was assisted at 10 years old due to severe, undiagnosed seizures.
Before life at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, high-content wolfdog Irwin was born to a breeder in Ohio and sold as a pet to a private owner. He remained in his original home for the first several years of his life, raised alongside the family’s black lab, who loved him like one of her own. Unfortunately, a day came in which Irwin demonstrated some undesirable behaviors toward his owner, who quickly realized that he was not the pet she hoped he would be. As a result, she began searching for a new home for him.
After several sanctuaries turned down requests for his rescue, Irwin was placed with a second owner in a private home in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, after more than a year in his new home, he once again demonstrated some unpredictable behaviors, resulting once more in the need for sanctuary placement. Wild Spirit was initially contacted and asked to take him in, but at that time we did not have any single females that staff believed he might be compatible with. As a result, his request for rescue was declined.
Months later, however, we found a potential opening for handsome Irwin. As fate would have it, our lovely high-content wolfdog Naia had been removed from her shared habitat with Arctic wolf, Flurry, as the two had become incompatible as Naia grew older. As such, we began to consider a new companion for her and Irwin came to mind immediately. Being much younger than Flurry and with higher energy and (ideally) greater patience with Naia, we hoped that the two might be a great fit!
“Operation Irwin” took place in October of 2020 when staff set out on the two day journey to retrieve our new rescue and bring him back home!
During the drive it was difficult to get a proper feel for Irwin, and though he did eventually warm up enough to allow staff to pet him through the chain-link, it was still unclear what his response to new people and animals might be. But upon arrival at the sanctuary, Executive Director Brittany was able to take his leash and lead him from the rescue van and into his new enclosure without issue.
Irwin was strategically placed in an enclosure right next to Naia’s, allowing the team to watch their interactions through a shared fence line before fully introducing them a couple months later. After just a few short play-dates, Naia and Irwin were moved to a large enclosure right on the tour path, where they lived together happily.
Personality
Irwin had a penchant for drama. This expressive, vocal and sporadic fellow was loved by Caretakers and guests alike, despite being one of the very few rescues in the history of Wild Spirit that we did not enter the enclosure with. It was not always that way . . . When Irwin first arrived, he excitedly welcomed his favorite people into the enclosure, beckoning for belly rubs and affection of any kind. However, often times as an animal habituates to their new home, they becoming comfortable enough to express their true selves and set needed boundaries. In Irwin’s case, he decided that he wanted to keep his space private for just himself, and his companion, Naia. Even so, he still loved to receive affection through the fence, and could often be found resting right at the fenceline for our guests to bask in his glorious presence and wall-eyed stare.
Relationships
Irwin had one companion and one companion only during his time at Wild Spirit, and that was the darling herself: Naia.
These two loved to play, explore, and do most things together, but their favorite activity by far was harrassing their neighbors as a unified front.
Likes & Dislikes
Irwin LOVED food. In fact, he loved food so much that if he didn’t even like the flavor, he would still steal if from Naia just to hoard it until he eventually developed a taste for it. The only thing he loved more was Brittany, the Executive Director in 2025.
Irwin disliked anyone entering his space without permission, anyone trying to steal his food, and any neighbor who dared to challenge him.
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