Sitka joined the Big Pack in the Sky on August 27th, 2025.
He passed away at 7 years old due to a food obstruction.
Sitka was born on April 28th, 2018 and arrived at Wild Spirit on 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, Sitka is the most skittish toward humans, and has yet to show any interest in us. While we hope he’ll learn to trust people in time, we think he’ll have a much easier time bonding with one of his own kind, and can’t wait to find the perfect companion to help him feel safe and comfortable in his home.
Personality
Sitka was best described as a cheer leader for other canines and a reluctant father. He seldom built relationships with humans, preferring the company of his own kind. He was a patient and docile guy who required a lot of trust building before he would even consider approaching, but that made it all the more worth while when you became one of his chosen people. Even then, he never did seek pets, or any form of affection, though just having the honor of a hand sniff from Sitka was enough.
Relationships
Sitka was the son of two other rescues we had on property, Freya and Fenris. He was also the father of another Wild Spirit rescue, Bjorn.
However, when Sitka arrived he was paired with an elderly companion, Brienne. They were a wonderful pairing, because Sitka always loved to follow someone elses lead. When she passed away in 2023, Sitka took on the mantle to pass on her wisdom onto next generation of Wild Spirit rescues. Due to Sitka’s docile and patient nature, we paired him with not one, but two six month old puppies to raise: Zephyr and Iroh. They thrived in his care and continue to flourish long after he has passed away.
Likes & Dislikes
Sitka loved enrichments, especially present boxes and cookies, as well as pretty much any companion he was paired with.
Sitka disliked when Zephyr was extra needy and wouldn’t give him any space.
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