Ohio 15 Updates

January 25th, 2026
(Emily's Facebook update)

A year ago today WolfWood was in the middle of the biggest and most horrific rescue we have ever done. Paula and I had already been in Ohio for two days (plus one very late night) and were helping the Humane World For Animals in any way we could on the Ohio Fur and Urine Farm.

I grew up watching shows on Animal Planet that depicted the worst of the worst hoarding cases, I wasn’t a stranger to what animal abuse could look like. And I felt like I had a good idea of what to expect when I saw the pictures that were sent to WolfWood in a plea for help. Seeing a picture is one thing though, being in it is another. What can’t be accounted for in an image is how cold it was, the smell, and the heavy energy of sadness. Animals had been kept in cages on that property for fifty years. There were no doubt thousands who suffered, and it could be felt the second I walked back to the areas he kept them all in.

It was at most 1 degree the entire time Paula and I were there with up to -20 degree windchill. The humidity made the cold soak through every layer and penetrate bones. I was bundled up in at least three layers, and my feet and face still stung.

A layer of ice and snow blanketed the property, covering many of the horrors that were done. Even though it was cold, we could smell the death and pain. It was a sharp smell that hung in the air; a mixture of waste, chemicals, hair, and rot. It clung to every surface as a thick layer of debris from the various structures walls to the wire of the cages.

When the director of the rescue operation showed Paula and me around, I was struck by how quiet the animals were. Hundreds of cages, and everyone holding as still as they could as we passed by. The occasional fox would stand up and come to the front of the cage when I looked at them. They would hold my gaze for as long as I looked at them. We tried to figure each other out—me wondering how they could be so resilient and willing to look at me with so much ease, and them maybe trying to understand what my purpose was there.

The wolf dogs had more spirit. They howled in the morning when we arrived and stood at the front of their cages, eager to see what we brought them. They had quickly learned that the people who had replaced their owner would feed them, and that was enough for them. The very first one we saw grabbed the front of his cage and pulled with all his might with his teeth. He wanted something, we got to find out later from the rescue that ended up with him that what he wanted so desperately was attention.

At the end of the first row stood Atticus, feet strategically placed on the 2x4s that held his wire cage up in the air, icicles coming out of his nose and lining his mouth. He regarded us with concern, but also shockingly curiosity. He sniffed my hand and rubbed against Paula’s.

On Jan 25th our transportation vehicle arrived. Brittany and Maya with Wild Spirit had driven overnight with their rescue van and it was time to start loading up the animals. What followed was several hours of strategic sedating and loading of the 11 adults we had selected to rescue. The first was the group dubbed “The Family.”

We weren’t sure how many puppies Scout had at the time, but we had agreed to take her and Atticus and however many babies they had. In order to be tranquilized easier, the animals had been given sedatives beforehand. Scout was oogy and brought Eros out of his den box. This made the timing feel that much more urgent. Eros was no more than 3 weeks old, was brough out into the elements for the first time and had his legs dangling through the wire floor. Atticus and Scout were doing everything they could not to step on him, but there was still a fear of what could happen on accident. When we finally got Scout and Atticus their tranquilizer, the last thing Scout did was crawl towards Eros to be with him. The gesture was profound to me. Despite everything that was happening to her, her last thoughts were of her baby.

As you know by now, WolfWood rescued 15 animals that day. They were stacked in crates strategically in the back of the van. My spot for the first part of the journey was on a beanbag chair in the back, with a crate of 3 puppies next to me, and Eros bundled up on my chest. Paula and I said goodbye and wished each other luck on our separate journeys back across the country to complete this rescue. What followed was a 26 hour drive, nonstop, with an already exhausted Brittany and Maya.

There are other stories I could tell about that journey, but this is already way too long.

When we agreed to take on these animals, we had no expectations that they would ever like humans. They weren’t going to be a cute cuddly rescue, and they were going to be work their entire lives. This past year has retaught us what animals from traumatic backgrounds teach us again and again, and that is how resilient they are.

Within a couple months, once the Ohio 15 realized they weren’t going to be hurt anymore and they had constant access to food and water, they blossomed. Now they greet us at the fence, take treats from our hands, and some even enjoy petting or giving wolf rubs!

Truckee, Knight, and Nanuk are proving to be fantastic ambassador animals. Scout, Atticus, and Eros love to give wolf rubs (and playfully bite at hair and clothes). Summit will lay next to his trusted humans and put a paw on them. Buckey and Zia dolphin poke people when they sit, and will rub against the fence for some people with stinky hands. John Quincy and Loki will dolphin poke people too, and Naya is always nearby, observing. Ember loves to sunbathe, and is more bold than her pen mate who came from a more domestic life than her. And all of them play with joyful abandon.

The Ohio rescue was the most meaningful cause I have ever gotten to be a part of. And I think the dozens, or maybe even hundreds of other people who got to be a part of it can say the same. There were so many people who made this rescue possible, from other rescue alerting Paula to the situation, the other caretakers at WolfWood, the volunteers, the Humane World for Animals, and all the people who donated to support their care.

The animals who came from that hellish place are now some of the happiest and most appreciative on the property.

June 4th, 2025

The Ohio 15 are the biggest rescue of wolfdogs WolfWood has ever undertaken. Not just in number of animals, but in the scale of what was required to get them home. The animals came from a fur and urine farm outside of Ashtabula, Ohio, East of Clevland. There were over 400 foxes, coyotes, skunks, racoons, feral hogs, and wolfdogs on site when the owner died from cancer. The Humane Word for Animals (formerly the National Humane Society) was called in to get all of the animals out within a very tight timeframe in January of 2025. Any animals left on the property by Saturday Jan 25 were required to be euthanized. 

Paula and one of WolfWood’s animal caretakers flew out to Ohio to assess the situation, decide how many animals they could take, and who. 15 animals were eventually selected, 11 adults and 4 puppies. Wild Spirit, another wolf refuge in New Mexico WolfWood has a close relationship with, volunteered to transport our animals for us in their van. WolfWood’s caretaker road back across the country with Wild Spirit’s director and an intern overnight with animals stacked floor to ceiling in crates.

More details on their experience can be read below in the three-part story Paula wrote upon arriving home with the animals. 

The rehabilitation the animals required was also longer and more intensive than any other rescue. Because of the living conditions they were in, WolfWood’s vet wanted them to be quarantined for a month. This meant keeping them in pens that didn’t share fence lines with any of WolfWood’s pre-existing residents and putting on painter suits with booties before going into any of the Ohio animal’s pens. All but two of the 11 adults tested positive for both Anaplasmosis and Lyme disease—tick born illnesses. One of the animals tested positive for Leptospirosis, a disease commonly spread by rats that can infect any species, including humans through infected urine getting into mucous membranes or cuts. Over the course of what ended up being two months, all 11 of the adults were spayed/neutered, given initial wellness exams, and put on a month-long course of antibiotics. Other issues that the animals had when we took them included, tumors—one benign one cancerous, a chronic case of demodex mange, frost bite, blindness, underdeveloped tendons in legs, and horrible teeth. Each ailment that could be treated was, the only incurable one being the blindness in two of the older males. 

Close to five months later the Ohio 15 have had time to settle into their permanent enclosures. For the first time in their lives they have enough room to run, places to escape the elements, plenty of food, and constant access to water. They are flourishing and coming into their own. The relaxed smiles on their faces show that they know that the horrors they went through are over. 

June 4th, 2025

A little on how we got each of the animals.
For more information and pictures see the "Animals" page.

Agustus (Gus): Agustus is a testament to how resilient animals can be even given the worst circumstances. Even in his small wire cage at the fur farm, Gus always had a smile on his face and would play-bow to anyone who walked by. At the refuge he continues to be a big goofy boy, running around his pen and playing with his partner Honu. In 2025 he was estimated to be between 4-5 years old. Gus has a minor disability from his life in Ohio which is an underdevelopment of the tendons in his front feet. Time and exercise have helped with the issue, but he will always walk a little more flat-footed than normal canines. Gus lives with his partner Honu and shares a fence-line with “The Family,” Scout, Atticus, and Eros. Gus loves to spend time with Eros through the fence.

Atticus: Atticus was part of a breeding pair who actively had a litter of puppies on site in Ohio a the time of rescue. WolfWood agreed ahead of time to take the whole family unit, regardless of how many puppies were hidden away with mom in the breeder box. Atticus is a gentle older animal who is more forgiving of humans than they deserve to be. He was estimated to be between 7-8 years old in 2025. He is shy, but still curious about people through the fence and will occasionally give wolf rubs. He is a strong silent guardian of his puppy Eros and endlessly devoted to his partner Scout. Atticus is going blind and so has been placed in a pen that has minimal obstacles for him to learn and remember. He enjoys spending his days lounging around with his family.

Buckee: Buckey is the boss of her pen. She thinks she’s all that and a bag of chips. In 2025 she was estimated to be around 5-6 years old. She’s smitten with her partner Summit and thinks her other penmate Zia is a troublemaker who needs to be ruled with an iron paw. Buckey was kept in one of the smallest cages in Ohio with Summit and Zia with no breeder box to escape the elements in. They were always piled on top of one another with limited resources before coming to WolfWood. Buckey was happy to move on from her past and has fully embraced the life of luxury she gets to experience at WolfWood now. 

Ember: Ember was the only animal without a penmate to be rescued by WolfWood. Her inquisitive nature charmed Paula. It was decided to take a low-risk gamble that she would get along with one of the pre-existing residents of WolfWood, and thus would not require an extra pen. This gamble proved to be successful, and Ember was paired with Takini, a sweet and patient 2 year old male who had arrived at the refuge not long before her. Ember is smart and can work out almost any problem. She is weary of humans, but still curious about them. She will give gentle boops with her nose to people who sit with her, and will take treats that she deems worth eating. Ember has also proven to be one of the weaker animals of the Ohio rescue. It doesn’t take much physical activity to leave her sore, even months after getting out of her small cage in the fur farm. She compensates for this by sunbathing on her pallet, with her new partner Takininearby. 

Eros: Eros was only a few weeks old when he was rescued with his parents from the fur farm. There was no way of knowing how many puppies would be in his litter before they were all pulled out on rescue day and WolfWood had agreed to take however many there were site unseen. By the time they were rescued Eros was the only puppy in his litter. His mother Scout showed herself to be a fiercely protective and dedicated mother to him. Because of this it was decided to let her raise him instead of taking him and socializing him more to people. Because of this Eros is not as social as the other litter of puppies that was rescued, but he still enjoys playing with his human friends. Eros is a spitfire and a little bit of a spoiled brat. His parents are lax with him and let him get away with almost anything. We couldn’t expect any less from parents who have lost all puppies prior to him and now get to raise their single golden boy. Eros has a charm to him that makes everyone swoon, he certainly has everyone at the refuge, canine and human alike, wrapped around his paw.

Honu: Honu lived with Agustus in Ohio and continues to at WolfWood. In 2025 he was estimated to be around 3-4 years old. Honu started out as one of the shier animals of the rescue. She has come around significantly since being rescued and is now one of the more playful animals. She and Gus will playbow and run around like crazy whenever someone enters their enclosure for feeding time. She is very gentle through the fence at taking treats and will sometimes give a little kiss. Honu loves her new life and is happy she gets to spend it with her partner Agustus. 

John Quincy Adams: JQ has quickly become one of the favorites of the Ohio rescue. He has an easy charm to him, and a smile that can break hearts. When he was rescued, he had a growth on his knee. At the time of his neuter, the tumor was removed and sent off to a lab to determine if it was cancerous or not. Thankfully it came back as benign. In 2025 he was estimated to be around 5-6 years old. Quincy is a simple man who appreciates the simple pleasures of eating lots of food and swimming in his pool (and water bucket). He is nothing like the insecure nervous animal he was in Ohio. Quincy lives with Loki and Naya. He sometimes gets into disagreements with Loki about who’s boss, but Naya is always nearby to act as the peacekeeper. 

Knight: Knight was rescued as a few weeks old puppy with his littermates Nanuk and Truckee. Knight is the most independent of his littermates but feels more confident when he has his sister nearby. Knight explores the world more like a wolf than a dog as he can be more cautious about new things. Knight is sweet and gentle with his human friends, and loves to be pet and get attention. He is more picky about who his canine friends are, but once he chooses them they are friends for life. Knight still lives with his sister Nanuk. There is potential for them to have a third penmate at some point in their future. 

Loki: Loki is one of the two oldest rescues from Ohio. He was estimated to be anywhere between 8-10 years old in 2025. He is completely blind, but you wouldn’t know it without seeing the blue film in his eyes. He moves around his pen with confidence, and uses his penmates John Quincy and Naya to help guide him. He was given a flat open enclosure so he wouldn’t have too many obstacles to learn, and he learned his space quickly! Loki is extremely food motivated and is the first of his group to run up to the fence to receive treats. We think Naya could be his littermate due to their similar age and appearance.

Nanuk: Nanuk is one of the puppies rescued with Knight and Truckee at only a few weeks old. She is a sweet and submissive girl. She loves people but can get a little overwhelmed with crowds. If she gets past this we are hoping she will make a good ambassador animal with her littermates.  Nanuk loves to carry things around in her mouth as a binkie. She also loves to play with her brother Knight.

Naya: Naya is one of the two oldest rescues from Ohio. She was estimated to be between 8-10 years old in 2025. She is the most reserved of her penmates John Quincy and Loki. She is a silent observer of all that happens at the refuge and all that happens to the animals around her. If one of the caretakers goes into her pen alone with a high value treat like meat, she might approach them and take the meat from their hand. Naya had the worst teeth of any of the animals from the Ohio rescue and had to have 15 teeth removed. She is now missing most of he upper teeth, so she needs to be given treats that are soft or small enough for her to eat without having to chew too much. She feels much better without all of those rotten teeth in her head though! Naya was one of the weakest one of the rescues and watching her become healthy has been one of the more rewarding parts of the whole rescue.

Scout: Scout is the mother of Eros and partner of Atticus. She is a fierce and at times indignant animal, but over time has also started to show her softer side. Scout took the trauma she experienced in Ohio particularly hard, and when she came to the refuge she also had intense post-partum hormones coursing through her system. After being spayed Scout tried to climb out of her temporary enclosure and as a result ripped her stitches out in the middle of the night. She had to be rushed to the vet for emergency life saving surgery. Her recovery time after this event was a month. Scout had a hard time being away from her family. Now she is reunited with her partner and son and seems especially content with her life. Scout is one of the few who have come around to liking to be pet through the fence. She will rub along the fence-line and let a select few give her scritches as she goes by. In the pen she will also give wolf-rubs occasionally. Scout is finally able to relax, and is happy.

Summit: Summit came with Buckee and Zia. He was in the smallest wire cage among the wolfdogs with no breeder box to go into to escape the harsher elements. The three of them were piled onto each other with little room to give each other space. Summit seemed to often be used as a pillow by Buckee and so was exposed to the freezing metal of the cage more than them. He also had a skin condition known as demodex mange that had become so chronic he had scratched most of his fur off. Any exposed skin that touched wire was frostbitten by the time WolfWood got him. His treatment for mange is still ongoing. Thankfully it only requires an oral medication once a month, but due to how chronic the condition is, he will need at least six months of medication. In 2025 he was estimated to be around 7-8 years old. He is a laid back guy who enjoys the company of his two slightly crazier counterparts.

Truckee: Truckee is one of the littermates of Knight and Nanuk. He was rescued from the fur farm at only a few weeks of age. Truckey has always been the most confident of his littermates with a lot of charisma to back him up. After being fostered by one of the caretakers for a couple months, Truckee was selected to become Calypso’s penmate. Calypso is a three legged adult animal who had a lot of requirements for any potential pen mate. She needed someone who wouldn’t push her around too much due to her disability, and who would do well in a flat smaller pen. Truckee turned out to be a great candidate for her. From the moment they met they were smitten for each other. Calypso likes to gently put her entire mouth around Truckee’s midsection in play. Truckee will roll over and let her do this. Truckee loves having visitors in his pen on tours. He spends his days playing in his pool, chewing on Calypso’s ears, and soaking up as much attention he can get from people. 

Zia: Zia lives with Summit and Buckee. When in Ohio the three of them were in the smallest cage with no breeder box to be able to escape the elements. They had so little space they couldn’t get much space from each other, because of this there was likely to be more bickering between the three. Zia learned to cope with this by accepting whatever discipline she received from the others (mostly Buckee) even if it was unjustified. Now when Buckee feels the need to posture and put Zia in her place, Zia just lays still until Buckee is satisfied she got her point across and walks off. Despite her odd relationship with Buckee, Zia gets very upset whenever something needs to be done with Buckee or she needs to be moved. Zia has accepted her wacky penmate as she is. Zia is curious about people and the things they do. She loves her pen and is content with the eclectic group she is a part of. 

June 4th, 2025

In the end all of the remaining wolfdogs were able to find placement at various facilities around the country.
If you are interested in learning about the other survivors of the Ohio fur and urine farm click the hyper-links below 
(this will be an evolving part of the page since many of the rescues who rescued fur farm animals have websites still under development:

Elmira’s Wildlife Sanctuary in Florida rescued 4 wolfdogs. Their stories can be found on the Facebook page linked in the name. Freya, Phoenix, Zion, Loki. They also rescued 4 foxes, Kit, Kat, Rocket & Nebula. 

Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Indiana took 7 wolfdogs, Aspen, Caden, Calypso and her puppies, Chunk, Chipotle, Mousse, and Cookie. The wolfdogs will not be featured on their website, but along with the wolfdogs, the rescue center took in 50 foxes, 6 coyotes, and 1 skunk.

Indiana Coyote Rescue Center rescued 4 wolfdogs, three were puppies born on the day of their parent’s rescue. Cronus, Reia, Theia, and Goldie an adult wolfdog. 

Red Riding Hood Rescue Project in Ohio took in three wolfdogs. Dante, Zephyr, and Zoe.

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico rescued 14 animals, Aurora, Buku Cappy Chappie (a coydog), Eevee, Ifria, Jethro, Kirara, Korah, Milnor, Mimi, Niohuru, Nova, Okami, Princess Poppy.

Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado took a family of five wolfdogs. Parents Akira and Hilda, and puppies Farah, Kiba, and Kylo