Saif
There are different ways and stories of people finding their pets. Some people seek out shelters and adoption centres to adopt their new furry babies while others might simply find one in trouble and end up rescuing them.
I believe, at some point in our lives, we all must try rescuing a stray animal at least once in our lives. In childhood, we all have had the urge to keep pets when we were not allowed to. Even though we probably did not even know how to take care of animals at that age. We all just had an urge to keep a pet. The excitement of having a pet felt so fancy. Plus, we all probably had more humanity in us because seeing an animal on the street all alone would warm our hearts. We could not just leave them alone outside. The only issue we had was that we wouldn’t get permission from our parents. Because our parents would never take us to an adoption centre themselves, most of us have tried to rescue any dog or cat we saw on the street outside our house.
I still remember the first puppy I rescued. It had black fur and I named him fluffy. Well, just like little kids, adults are not immune to this emotion as well. However, it is not guaranteed that the puppies or dogs we rescue will turn out how we thought them to be. This is what a teenage boy from Arizona had to deal with when he passionately rescued an adorable abandoned puppy. He believed the little one to be just a young puppy, but it turned out to be something completely unexpected. It turns out, the puppy was actually a wolf cub. Yes, you read it right. It was a wolf cub!
Scroll below to dig more into the story.
Via Dodo
The whole story started when Tuscan, an 18-year old boy, was at a store. He was just going around the store when he saw an adorable little puppy left alone in the shopping cart. The little puppy was alone with no guardian. It was clear that he had been left alone. He was instantly filled with empathy and love. He could not leave this little pup alone so he took the puppy with him. He wanted to ensure the puppy has proper food and shelter.
Just like the rest of our parents, Tuscan’s parents were not completely on board initially either. They were not fond of the idea of keeping a puppy. Tuscan was very committed to this and had already made up his mind to take care of the little puppy. He begged his parents with pleading eyes to let him keep the little puppy. The puppy was so adorable that he just couldn’t leave him alone. He did not seem to have any family and certainly had nowhere to go, given that he was found alone in a store. The little puppy had no shelter, no food, or guardian. The little puppy’s ears perked up high as if it was a german shepherd.
The little puppy was named Neo by his new loving owner, Tuscan. Thankfully, Tuscan’s parents finally agreed to adopt the little puppy after a lot of begging. Tuscan was elated and could not be any happier. After his parents agreed, Tuscan quickly started making preparations for the puppy. He started training Neo to encourage a routine. Unfortunately, Neo was not like other dogs in this matter. Neo was having a hard time adjusting to the new routine Tuscan was trying to build for him.
NEO – He’s the one. Lol
Although dogs are known to be needy and very attached to their owners, Neo was more than just needy. He got excessively attached to Tuscan. He wanted Tuscan in his presence all the time. If Tuscan left at any point, Neo would become highly anxious and become very disoriented till Tuscan came back. This was not normal behaviour for a dog. Dogs are very loving and affectionate, but they do not become as needy as Neo did. This prompted Tuscan to think about what could be different with Neo.
Neo could not even adjust to the house-training discipline. He used to litter and pee everywhere in the house. Regardless of regular training and instructions, Neo could not follow through with them. This was very unusual for a dog because, after some time, dogs get trained and adopt a routine. Neo, on the other hand, could not do any of that. In addition to that, Neo was not a very social or friendly dog. He stuck to Tuscan’s side and would cause an issue if anyone else tried to hand him. Tuscan could not stay around all the time and had other things to do in his day too. He could not keep Tuscan with him all the time.
It started getting difficult to handle Neo. Tuscan tried to hire a dog-sitting but that did not sit right with Neo. Neo was not the friendliest around the sitter. He would constantly show aversion. He did not feel the most comfortable with anyone other than Tuscan or his family who came near him. This was visible in his interactions with people of the neighbourhood too. He would become extremely antisocial and moody whenever someone else was in his presence. He would not make eye contact with people or even let them play with him.
He did not feel very comfortable around people either. This would add to his mood fluctuations and unpleasant behaviour. He was more willing to be with other dogs in the block and constantly trying to be in groups. Because of his antisocial and moody behaviour, people on the street did not feel safe and comfortable around him. His constant grouping with other big dogs causes terror and fear amongst the people of the neighbourhood, even though he did not harm anyone.
Eventually, when he grew older, Neo started exhibiting Houdini-like tendencies. He would find any opportunity to escape from the yard into the neighbourhood to play with the German shepherds.
People in the neighbourhood were not very fond of having Neo in the street. They did not feel very fond of this unfriendly and huge dog that kept invading the space of their property.
To counter this, Tuscan and his family lodged a higher fence separating the yard from other houses. Unfortunately, Neo ripped it apart by chewing. He was too willing to be in the company of the canines.
Eventually, it got too much to handle for the Neo’s owner. He had to constantly hear complaints from the neighbour and was also not able to provide Neo with the excessive amount of attention and time it needed. Finally, Neo’s owner contacted the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to find a new, more suitable home for Neo.
When Neo entered the Humane Society, CEO Maureen O’Nell instantly spotted him and realized an important thing about him. She immediately understood the reason behind Neo’s od behaviour. He was not a typical dog.
“I saw a couple walking a long-legged canine to the front door,” she told while talking to Dodo. “It wasn’t his body composition that made me notice, but his behaviour. Neo was completely avoidant of human interaction. The couple walking him seemed, as best as I can describe it, perplexed.”
Dogs do not avoid human interaction to the extent that Neo did. That was quite visible in Neo’s behaviour.
This is when she and other people of the staff understood why Neo was not behaving properly. For them, it was pretty obvious he was not a regular dog but a high-content wolf dog. This meant that he was birthed after a cross between a wolf and a dog, but Neo’s genetics were more of a wolf.
This explained why Neo had both traits of a dog and a wolf but more prominently it exhibited Wolf-like behaviour. He was more of a wolf than a dog. He was very affectionate and attention-seeking like a dog but constantly tried to make a pack by seeking the company of canines. This also explains why he was not very friendly with other people but was in fact anti-social.
The Humane society kept Neo in their protection for a while, but they needed to locate him to a place that was perfect for his species. This is when they contacted the rescue organization and a youth empowerment program known as Wolf Connection, located in California. This organization aims to rescue the abandoned wolves and wolf-dogs that have been domesticated in past and are unknown to the wild. They aim to rehabilitate them according to their needs. They allow them a place where they can build their packs with others of the same kind, and discover their need to socialize with animals of their kind. They get to live among canines and other animals that are just visitors.
Wolf Connection stated LittleThings talking about their organization. The statement also stated the role of Neo in the organization:
