Illegal species as pets prompting arguments in Calaveras County
By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer
SAN ANDREAS – Wolf dogs are illegal in Calaveras County because they supposedly have recent wolf ancestors, yet experts on the species say many of the pets probably have little or no wolf blood.
There are dozens and possibly hundreds of wolf dogs kept as family pets in Calaveras County, according to public officials.
The issue surfaced after someone turned in a wolf-dog breeder in West Point. On June 26, the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors studied and then narrowly rejected a proposal to legalize the animals and require them to receive rabies vaccinations.
That breeder, Cathie Depner, and her husband, John Allen, are waging a campaign to persuade county officials to legalize wolf dogs.
“If you call your dog a wolf dog, the county can take it,” Allen said during a meeting last week with seven members of the Calaveras County Domestic Animal Advisory Committee. “It’s not just us. There are going to be more people.”
Nobody’s wolf dog has been taken yet. A citation issued to Depner last winter was put on hold while county officials considered legalization. County Animal Services Division officials have told Depner that they will soon reissue the citation. Once that happens, she will have seven days to euthanize her wolf dogs or move them out of the county.
Such animals are subject to exile or euthanasia only because of the claim that they have recent wolf ancestors.
Wolves are considered wildlife under county code. It is illegal to keep either wolves or wolf-dog hybrids.
Science, law and popular culture collide on the subject of wolf dogs.
Wolf dogs have become wildly popular in recent years. A search online can easily find dozens of breeding operation options.
Even so, they are illegal in many states and local government jurisdictions, both because of bans on wildlife as pets and, supporters say, because of anti-wolf prejudice.
Scientists have an entirely different take on wolf dogs. Genetics researchers say that all dogs are descended from wolves, and both are the same species. Yet selective breeding has altered the behavior and look of domestic dogs since they split from wolves about 100,000 years ago.
Researchers such as evolutionary geneticist Robert K. Wayne of the University of California, Los Angeles, now say that dogs were the first animals domesticated. And that happened long before humans developed agriculture at the end of the last ice age.
Wayne has studied the genetics of wolves and dogs for decades. He said he is aware that wolf-dog breeders commonly estimate the “percentage” of wolf ancestry an animal has based on how recently a pure wolf was part of a dog’s family tree.
“In most cases, the specific genealogy is not known or verified, so the statement is probably not based in fact,” Wayne said.
He also said there is no easy way to measure the degree of domestic dog vs. wolf ancestry.
Depner, for example, has been the target of critics who say her dogs don’t have wolf traits.
“The physical characteristics of a wolf or a wolf dog differ quite a bit from what Cathie has. They are never born white, and Loki was born white,” said Christa Downey, an Alabama resident and self-described wolf dog rescue activist.
Depner says Downey has it wrong.
“She’s never seen my dogs. She’s never been around my dogs. She’s just going off my pictures,” Depner said.
Whether Depner’s dogs are wolf dogs matters in part because she runs a breeding business. Her website indicates she sells wolf-dog pups for $700.
Among those questioning Depner’s wolf dogs are people connected with a Facebook page titled “Stop Wolfdog Misrepresentation.”
Stephanie Warner of Oklahoma, a member of that group, said she herself bought a supposed wolf dog from a different breeder only to discover that it had no traits that she believes would indicate wolf ancestry.
She says Depner, like the breeder she bought from, is selling domesticated dogs.
“There’s no wolf in there. It’s just not there. She’s not going to make any money off of a cross that is a German shepherd mixed with a malamute and a little husky thrown in there.”
Why own a wolf dog? Admirers of the hybrids say they are different.
“You are looking at an animal that is smarter than your typical dog. You are looking at an animal that bonds closer than a typical dog,” Warner said. “They are not pets. You share your life with a wolf dog.”
Wayne, the UCLA geneticist, said there probably will be behavioral differences in at least the first generation after a wolf breeds with a domestic dog, and that those animals can “be problematic as pets.”
Wayne’s advice to his fellow humans: “My belief is that there is plenty of diversity within domestic dogs and that breeders should leave wild wolves alone.”