Adopting stray or rescued dogs is always the best option you could ever take if you want to have a pet. But sometimes the sweet stray ends up being the pet you cannot handle on your own, and this is what happened to a young boy from Tucson, Arizona. It was early morning when a young man spotted a free puppy sign on a door.
Curious about what could the puppy look like, he got out of his car and knocked on the door. When he saw the fluffy puppies that looked a bit like German Shepherds, he fell in love with them.
We can all agree that puppies are more than adorable, and if you ever stop by to look at some puppies that are available for adoption, we guarantee you’ll go home with at least one or more.
The same thing happened to a young boy who just had to knock on that door and ask about the puppies.
The man giving them away was a firefighter who rescued the little puppies from a storm sewer that very morning.
Not knowing what to do with the tiny pups, he set a 'free puppy' sign right outside his house, hoping that someone might want to adopt them.
Thinking that he hit the jackpot, the teenager took one of the pups to his car and later to his house that would soon be his forever home, or so he thought. But the sweet puppy wasn’t a regular dog, and this young man would soon learn it the hard way!
How many times haven’t we asked our parents when we saw puppies? The 17-year-old teenager just took the adorable fluff in the car and headed home.
What would his parents say about his decision? It was time to find out…
The parents agreed to keep the cute dog, as he was indeed adorable with those ears perked up like a German shepherd’s and his beautiful eyes.
But what nobody knew was that this little pup would turn out to be a handful...
The puppy looked almost exactly like a German Shepherd but his ears were kind of... too pointy!
His tail was also longer than normal dogs but his appearance wasn't the strangest thing - it was his behavior that made the family realize something wasn't right...
What was a bit strange about the pup who was now called Neo was that he was a bit skittish and nervous. He also hated trips in the car and peed and pooped all over the vehicle because of it.
While you might say that’s just regular puppy stuff, wait until you hear more.
Neo loved to spend time with his owner, but he was extremely sad when the boy had to leave for school and to his full-time job. Nonetheless, he was responsible and asked someone to be the dog-sitter.
Did that work out for Neo?
Whenever he was left alone with other people, Neo became moody and antisocial. He didn’t even want to make eye contact with others than his owner.
But Neo figured out a way to socialize with the neighbors’ dogs.
Remember all the funny photos of people getting new neighbors, and then they get greeted by the neighbors’ dogs? Well, these two huskies might be cute, but Neo wasn’t interested in his neighbors.
He wanted to meet their German Shepherds. How did that turn out for Neo?
The first escape was amusing, and the neighbors let Neo surprise them with his visit for a few days until his owner could build a higher fence. But Neo was a bit strange, avoiding the neighbors and only hanging out with their dogs.
What was wrong with this pup?
Whenever the neighbors got closer to Neo, he’d run in their house and cower in their bathroom.
This pup wasn't interested in human contact, he didn't even like to be pet. Something was very strange about this dog…
What was even weirder was that the neighbors didn’t get to convince Neo that they were friendly. They handed him treats, and he ignored them all! Neo was only coming to play with their dogs, even though the fence was higher.
How did he get into the neighbors’ yard this time? This pooch is quite the escape artist!
Next time when you look at a dog through the fence, think again! These guys would even chew through it to reach their goal, and that’s what Neo did!
He wanted to hang out with the other dogs while his owner was not at home. One day, the neighbors had enough and drove Neo to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.
It was stressful to see Neo all day long in their yard, so the neighbors decided to take Neo to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona until the owner gets home and finds a solution to put an end to Neo’s escapades.
But what these guys didn’t know was that Neo’s fate would be different…
In an interview with The Dodo, the former CEO of the Humane Society Maureen O’Nell, recalls the morning when Neo was brought to the shelter: “One morning, before our animal welfare campus opened to the public, I was outside with another staff member. I saw a couple walking a long-legged canine to the front door.
It wasn’t his body composition that made me notice, but his behavior.” What did she see?
“Neo was completely avoidant of human interaction. The couple walking him seemed, as best as I can describe it, perplexed,” added O’Nell. What was wrong with Neo?
She then added that she approached the couple and told them: “You know that isn’t a dog, right?”
The couple’s response was: “we were wondering.” So what was Neo? Your guess might be right…
The fur, the amber eyes, and the long lanky body were the markings of a wolf dog. Neo’s behavior was that of a high content wolf dog, which means that the wolf genes influenced most of his behavior.
But what happens to Neo after this discovery? This is when things get a little more complicated!
Neo was only loyal to his owner because he believed he was his pack and when the “pooch” was alone in the yard, he would escape to be with other members of the pack, the neighbors’ dogs. O’Nell then checked the law in Arizona and learned that only the Native Americans or people with special permits were allowed to own a wolf dog.
She had to alert the authorities, but then she came up with a great idea!
O’Nell immediately called a wolf dog rescue center, and sanctuary from California called Wolf Connection. They agreed to take Neo and care for him, and then the shelter’s CEO called Neo’s owner to tell him all about his pup and that he would be much better off at the sanctuary, among his kind.
Wait until you see what happened to Neo when he got at the sanctuary!
The owner agreed when O’Nell told him that “his boy had a wonderful life ahead of him at Wolf Connection.” Neo arrived at the sanctuary, and he was in excellent condition, which meant that his owner took good care of him. Nonetheless, the happy wolf had to get his medical clearance and wait one night before being introduced to the pack.
What did this escape artist do?
“Neo decided that he didn’t like being kept so far away from the rest of the pack, off in the isolated area of the compound,” Wolf Connection’s Salansky said, adding that “he escaped the isolation kennel and went straight to the habitat of Wolf Connection’s alpha female, Maya.”
Thanks to the shelter’s CEO and the sanctuary, Neo is now living with his pack.
On his first night at Wolf Connection, he joined the “nightly howl,” a habit the wolves have when the pack care team leaves the sanctuary at the end of the day.
“He didn’t wait to see where he fit in with the pack. He knew he belonged.” O’Nell concluded.
Neo finally found his pack! It’s so great to see that this pup has a much better life with others like him, free to run and play all day long!
As it turned out, the firefighter didn't rescue a bunch of puppies that were in need of help.
They were baby wolves all along.