the story of our wolf-dog Casper
I was grateful when Croatian friend and artist Lidija Ivanek (see "The Art of SiLa" and "A Sense of Guilt") offered to write a response to the phenomenon of seeking out wolf-dogs as pets, an issue which she is uniquely positioned to address. Following is "Kindness with a Touch of Wilderness: The Story of Our Wolf-Dog Casper" ...
As with so many other pets that were a part of my home at some period in time, so it is with Casper now. Not that I wanted or demanded him exactly, a wolf-dog, he just happened to find a home with me and I accepted him as I did any other of God's creatures that passed through my home.
I am looking at the old photographs from when he was just 4 months old, and I remember that he was a silent puppy. Until one year of age he didn't bark or howl. Everybody expected him to howl, as he is half-wolf, but he didn't. Even now he rarely howls, only when he hears a siren from an ambulance car, and he occasionally barks. As a baby, he had enormous paws and very dense fur, but a small head with big lop-ears. He was adorable.
From the beginning, he lived with other dogs. During some periods when he was alone (without the companion of other animals), he made sounds which attracted other dogs. I've never heard those sounds from other dogs. It was not a coincidence that we found a herd of stray dogs in front of our door. You can imagine our surprise in the morning when we couldn't go outside because some strange dog guarded our back door and barked at us when we wanted to step outside. An even stranger thing is that our backyard was fenced in by a high fence, and Casper lived in the house. The mystery was partially revealed when I caught him digging a hole to let stray dogs in. Yes, his intelligence is much different than that of other dogs.
He is a very social animal, very attached. He physically suffers when he is alone. Casper chose me as his master and Kan, our dog, chose my husband. To give you a picture of what attached means, I will tell you that he is constantly around my feet. He walks silently. 40 kilograms of body weight which he can move very quickly, and at the same time very silently. Because of that, when I am working around the house I must be extra careful not to fall over him. He just comes and stretches out beneath my feet without my notice. He also has one other characteristic which can drive you nuts: he loves to cuddle, and can be really annoying sometimes.
When people hear that he is a wolf-dog, they usually have a picture in mind of a bloodthirsty animal. Because of that stereotype, I've heard that many Italians demanded this mix from breeders in Europe to raise for fights. That is a very ugly business, and it should be stopped. Having one of these mixed breeds as our pet, I can see how awfully wrong it is to make them fight, and how his nature differs from that of a truly bloodthirsty disposition. Don't get me wrong, he can still attack, and he still has his wilderness inside of him.
We took both of our dogs to a school for owners and their pets, where they teach people how to handle their dogs so they can be a normal part of this overcrowded modern society. We learned a lot about their reactions, and how to get to the point where we are their master and not the other way around. Now I can handle situations out in the fields, when some clumsy rabbit hops in front of Casper's eyesight, or when a neighbor's dog is walking on the street without supervision from his owner and wants to jump on Casper.
His wild side is most evident when the temperature falls below zero, when his blood runs much quicker and he is full of excitement. His senses are much sharper then, and I can see his wild ancestors from the snowy white landscape of the north inside him. He doesn't like water, but snow is something which he adores.
Casper actually has some motherly feelings toward baby animals and baby humans. Somehow he understands their vulnerability. In their presence, he is extra careful and tolerant. His wolf nature is naturally hard-wired for taking care of pups, because an entire pack of wolves work together to care for and feed the young. Sometimes, a wolf will even go hungry in order to feed the pups. They seem to enjoy the company of younger wolves, and sometimes they will compete with each other for time with the pups. That's probably the reason why he was such a good caretaker for our dog Kan, and why they are like brothers today.
There is one other characteristic of Casper's which is quite different from other dogs: he can easily jump or climb any fence, window, etc. He can jump over a 2-meter high fence or climb even higher. Where we've lived for the last 5 years we have a very low fence, but we taught him not to jump over it, and we also never leave him alone in the backyard for a long time.
There are a lot of small differences between our dog and our wolf-dog, but I think you get the picture that we must adjust a lot to having Casper with us. He is a beautiful animal and we are happy that he can be a part of our lives, but we never forget that he is partly a wolf, and we respect that other side of him. As much as he looks like any other white shepherd dog, inside him beats the heart of a wolf.
I am deeply disturbed by reports coming from the U.S. that a lot of people want to have wolf-dogs as pets, that it's becoming a kind of trend. At the same time, from the other end comes information that different governments are instituting new laws to forbid keeping wolf-dogs. In most cases, the appearance of wolf-dogs is just as same as that of some other dogs. It is hard to differentiate which is which. If governments forbid keeping wolf-dogs, it could happen that they will end up banning normal dogs in the process, shepherds that have been with humans for ages.
Wolf-dogs cannot survive in the wilderness. They need humans. We need to not forget that they are partly dogs, too. I think that people need to be educated about what it means to have such a mixed breed. They need to know all the facts so they can make rational decisions. When demand for a breed goes down, breeders will decrease their breeding and transition to some other breed.
You cannot take in an animal, and after few months decide that it is not for you. An animal is a living being, and people have responsibilities toward them to treat them as such, and not as an object. A living creature has feelings, thoughts, and a will of his own. He can suffer and he can feel joy. He knows when he belongs to some family, when he is a part of them. And when that same family rejects him and tosses him onto the street, he feels pain, loss, and confusion.
Don't forget that. Animals, including wolf-dogs, are living and breathing creations of God.
(A sincere thanks to Lidija for writing this reflection for not one sparrow, and for sharing the photos and painting of Casper (copyright). You can follow her artwork and writing at SiLaArt.com, SiLaArt.blogspot.com and SiLaArtPhoto.blogspot.com)
January 27, 2011
Reader Comments (4)
What a fascinating creature Casper is! It was so interesting to read about how the characteristics that God has given wolves come out in Casper even far away from a wolf pack, such as a concern for little ones. I admire Lidija who has taken the time to really understand Casper and to care for him in the way that he needs it. It's very commendable.
Thanks for your note, Mom, I completely agree. I just forwarded your comment to Lidija - love, Ben
I enjoyed reading your post. It is a very touching story that brings a silent tear to the eye.
dog boarding cleveland
Thanks very much, Stefano. I looked up the website you linked to, and very much admire the mission behind Hattie Larlham Doggie Day Care & Boarding - best wishes, Ben