A Colorado man who recently lost his beloved wolf-dog pet has told Newsweek about his passion for the cross-breed canines, and his hopes for their future.

"I have always had a fascination and respect for wolves since I was very young. But owning a wolf was illegal at this point in my life," Phillip Young said. Living in Louisiana at the time, Young was not able to legally own a wolf, but could have a wolf-dog hybrid and adopted his first one 10 years ago.

In the U.S., the legality of owning wolf dog hybrids varies from state to state. There is no federal law against owning a wolf dog, but state laws vary from complete bans to restrictions, and even places where there is no regulation.

For example, in Alaska, the possession of wolf and wild-cat hybrids is illegal, but Florida allows the ownership of hybrids with some restrictions. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, residents are permitted to own wolf-dog hybrids with no regulations.

The first wolf dog Young adopted was called Kota. "She came from a breeder not far from my hometown in Louisiana. The breeder advertised her as 98 percent wolf. Once I saw her and the sire and dam, I knew there was no way she could be that high of a percentage of wolf, but fell in love with her anyway," Young said. "So, she came home with me that night. I was able to DNA test her a few years later, and found her to only be 25 percent wolf, with Malamute, German shepherd, husky, and chow."

When Kota died in 2021, Young wanted to take on the challenge of an animal with a larger percentage of wolf. He started researching breeders across the country.

On his search for a wolf dog with a higher percentage of wolf, Young came across Faelen.

"His DNA tested at 54 percent wolf, with Malamute, husky, German shepherd, and Norwegian elkhound," said Young. He adopted Faelen and his daughter, another wolf dog called Keeva.

But, as the family were planning a move to Colorado, their living conditions did not allow for them to have Faelen and Keeva with them.

"We were moving our belongings from Louisiana to Colorado but are living in a rental town home," said Young. "I needed a foster home until we closed on a permanent home with land for the wolf dogs, and I found a foster in Texas."

But, just four days later, Young received a call from the foster home to tell him that Faelen had died.

"She said she thought the daughter had killed him. I drove down the next morning and, through some investigating, realized that he had gotten his head stuck in the fence," said Young. "While trying to free himself, he had pulled a wire loose that inevitably sliced his throat from one side to the other before he was able to free himself. Then he bled out and died. I moved Keeva that evening to a different foster home for rescued wolf dogs in Colorado."

Heartbroken by the loss, Young recalled his favorite things about his pet. "He learned things very quickly and easily. With consistent weekly socialization, we were able to overcome the natural skittish and cautious nature that wolves have," said Young. "We were involved in wolf and wolf-dog education everywhere we went due to the sheer amount of questions from people who stopped to talk to us. His happy-go-lucky attitude put people at ease when around him."

When the family close on a home and have built an appropriate containment, Young explained he will take Keeva home to live with him again. "I drive five-and-a-half hours one way to see her once a month, and spend the weekend with her at the foster home. This helps to reinforce that I have not abandoned her," Young said.

Wolf-dog hybrids often capture attention, from a TikTok-famous 12-week-old puppy to a wolf dog that created her own "winter den" in another viral video.

But Young explained that he wishes people had a better understanding of the animals.

"I wish that people knew these are not a dog for the normal household. You don't change their lifestyle to fit yours, but you have to change yours, to fit them," he said. "They are pack animals and they need a companion dog—otherwise they get bored and can become destructive."

Jo Sellers is a dog trainer and founder of Pippin Pets Dog Training. She told Newsweek: "Wolf dogs are not any more dangerous than domestic dogs. Wolf hybrids are considered dangerous and owners need to have a dangerous animal licence, as they are directly from a wolf. Wolf dogs are bred with wolf dogs and therefore more 'dog'.

"Wolf dogs are more timid with people, and can be very shy and/or nervous. They will prefer to run away than feel they have to fight, just as wild wolves behave. They are professionals at escaping, and often display separation anxiety, which will result in destruction around the home—a symptom of the separation distress," Sellers added.

Young explained that caring for wolf dogs can be expensive, from creating suitable enclosures to feeding them the required raw-food diet.

"They have a bad reputation due to unscrupulous breeders selling to unqualified buyers," said Young. "Buyers who have no idea what they've gotten themselves into, owners not properly socializing their dogs, and breeders selling pups to illegal areas—they have give the animals a bad rap.

"Many buy wolf dogs without doing proper research. Impulse-buying any pet is never recommended, but especially with something that is not legal in all locations," Young added.

"These dogs need experienced owners who can and will put in the time, effort and ethical training—more than a six-week puppy course," said Sellers. "As for their reputation—it is a myth that they will be good guard dogs, as they are more inclined to run away. They are not status dogs, and really should have very experienced owners, so anyone considering adopting one should really consider if they can meet all their welfare needs, or if they should go for a domesticated dog instead. Of course, this applies to any pet being adopted. They are a long-term effort and won't suit many homes."

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