MAINE, USA — Tucked away on a little over 50 acres in southern Maine is what’s believed to be the only rescue sanctuary for wolf hybrids in the state.
It’s called the Wolves of Maine Sanctuary, a center that relies solely on donations, interns, and volunteers to keep its gates open.
Its executive director, Kim Printy, said the wolfdogs are "spoiled rotten" until their dying days.
"To watch them come out of their shell and become their own little wolfdog is pretty great,” Printy said. "Especially when you know, unfortunately, that a human has been unkind to them."
Printy has a special permit that allows her to house the wolfdogs on her property because owning a hybrid is illegal in Maine.
For that reason, Printy said if a wolfdog is surrendered to a shelter, found, or rescued by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife from abuse or neglect, Printy said the animals are euthanized.
"People think it's so cool. 'Hey, I got this wolf-dog, wolf hybrid,' and a lot of times they don't realize that they're illegal in most of the states and the people that are breeding them just care about the bottom line for how much they're getting per pup."
In the last two months alone, Printy said she has had to turn away 22 wolf hybrids because she simply didn’t have the resources. She said education about owning this type of animal is crucial right now.
"In the wild, they would be traveling 50 or 60 miles a day, not to look for food. That's their enrichment. That's their 'I’m finding my happy place, I'm a wild wolf,' so, we do the best we can here but we're still doing a disservice."
Printy said it’s hard to get that message out because the sanctuary is not open to the public.
Watch the story above to learn more about Wolves of Maine’s mission, meet the hybrids, and get to know some of the people who help keep the sanctuary running.