A group of Bristol neighbors are at odds after one told the town he wants to build and operate a refuge for wolf hybrids.
Carmen Salarno, who lives on a winding dirt road just off Poor Farm Rd., says she is worried that her children, and those of her neighbors, could be in danger from the animals.
On April 14, Salarno began the petition process that could lead to a town ordinance after learning her next door neighbor, James C. Doughty, approached town officials recently with plans to construct a series of pens and fences on his nine-acre property to house rescued wolf hybrids.
Doughty, who owns a pair of wolf hybrids, knows there will be opposition but says he has a passion for the breed. “We’ll see,” said the self-employed building contractor. “People don’t understand (these animals). They are afraid.”
Fear for her children (aged 13 and 16), and those of her neighbors is the reason Salarno asked town officials for help.
“Our stop has 17 children waiting for the bus each school day,” she said.
Doughty replies that some wolf hybrid owners are at fault too.
He says he is upset that people breed wolf hybrids to sell them to people who want them for status, but have no idea what to do with them. Both of Doughty’s animals have been “fixed,” He says he has no plans to breed the animals at his proposed kennel.
Doughty likes to play with his wolf hybrids. He wrestles with them and even allows them to eat dog biscuits out of his mouth. But he cautions visitors that the pair, Koda, a 160 pound male and Sassya, a 60 pound female, are not just dogs.
“They are smarter than any dog. They don’t fetch,” he said.
He insists they are not dangerous. “If people knew about them, they would change their minds. I want to educate people about them, to get schoolchildren and others to get to know what they are dealing with, before they decide to get one,” he said.
The operator of a similar facility in New Hampshire says there is a need for wolf hybrid rescue operations.
Bill Russell, a retired Massachusetts State Trooper, operates Dancing Brooke Lodge, a wolf hybrid rescue facility in Alexander, N.H. He said he is forced to turn down three to five animals a week because his operation is at capacity, housing 55 animals.
Russell acknowledges that Doughty will face opposition because the even the idea of wolf hybrids makes people nervous.
“People hear the word wolf, and think danger. They think about ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ or the ‘Three Little Pigs,'” he said.
An endangered species biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says Doughty’s kennel proposal is a sort of good news-bad news situation.
“It is good that there will be a place where owners can drop off their wolf hybrids The bad news is when they (wolf hybrid owners) can no longer handle them and they just dump them in the woods where they become our problem and we have to go get them,” said Mark McCollough.
The biologist said he understood why Salarno and other mothers are afraid of the wolf hybrids, but he said statistics show there are more people injured by domestic dogs than other animals including rattlesnakes, grizzly bears, cougars and wolves, he said.
In New Hampshire, Russell said he was recently forced by neighborhood opposition to relocate his facility to a 225-acre location on top of a mountain. His nearest neighbor is now a mile away.
Russell says it is tough to locate funding, as grants from animal welfare agencies are few.
“The humane organizations consider wolf hybrids as wild animals and the people who give grants for wild animals consider it a domestic dog,” he said.
McCullough said he knew of no federal programs to provide funding for wolf hybrid rescue facilities.
Salarno approached Bristol Selectmen last week seeking help and was told the town has no ordinance that would bar the facility.
If she wished to initiate one, selectmen told her to circulate a petition seeking an ordinance barring the construction and operation of a wolf hybrid kennel. She must obtain the signatures of at least 157 registered Bristol voters.
If the petition is accepted, it will be presented to the town’s voters at the June general election or at a special town meeting, said Chad Hanna, the chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Salarno says she is in process of putting together the petition. In the meantime, she said she talked to her next door neighbor.
“I called him and expressed my concerns. I told him I would be in opposition to his project and concerned about danger,” she said.
Dr. Christine Fraser, a state veterinarian with the Maine Department of Agriculture’s animal welfare program, the agency that regulates animal kennels, said she has spoken to Doughty. He said she pointed him to the regulations he needs to follow.
“They are the same for any dog kennel,” she said. “Doughty spoke to me (about) two months ago and said he was thinking of exhibiting wolf hybrids, I told him that would fall under the United States Department of Agriculture licensed federal welfare act.
Maine law requires wolf hybrid animals to have a microchip or a tattoo for identification. In addition, if they bite anyone, they must be euthanized, she said.
Dr. Fraser suggested persons who want to purchase or raise wolf hybrids use caution.
“Lots of people get wolf hybrids and they think they are like any other exotic animal and they are not. Some are a lot like dogs but they vary in temperament. This is why (animal) shelters are not willing to take them in,” she said.
“There is always a risk they might get out and I understand why (neighboring) people are concerned” she said.
That is the point, said Salarno. “I am afraid of them,” she said.
Russell said he believes that Doughty’s nine-acre lot is a bit small for a rescue facility. “At our old location, we had 45 acres. Our next door neighbor was 1500 to 2000 feet away and she complained about the noise.”
Salerno lives just up the hill from Doughty not far from his proposed pens.
“Noise could be an issue (for Doughty). Wolves like to howl,” he said. Salerno says her neighbor’s animals howl every night.
Doughty denies this saying other neighbors have dogs that make more noise than his pair of wolf hybrids.
Russell also suggested Doughty should consider a fence of high tensile steel with additional fencing buried in the ground. Russell said his fence is 12 feet high.
Despite the stout fencing, Russell said seven of his animals escaped.
“We got them back after three weeks. They were running around the neighborhood, but there were no injuries. One lady kept her chickens out all the time and there was no problem,” said Russell.
Other neighbors were not so sure. Local newspaper reports say some neighbors were concerned. Some, concerned for their children and pets, kept their shotguns at the ready until they were captured.
Doughty, 50, a contractor, who fell off a church roof last year as he replaced shingles, knows he needs a strong fence. He plans to construct three one-acre pens with 10-foot high fences to let them run. He says the materials will cost $15,000.
Dr. Fraser said Maine officials are reluctant to issue a kennel license if it is against town ordinances, she said.
“We certainly honor town ordinances. He has to go through the town before he comes to the state,” she said. “We never issue a license unless the town approves. If the town won’t license them, we won’t either.”
Russell said the biggest problem with the animals is misconception. He said they are very misunderstood animals.
“When we used to walk our animals on the street, people would come up and pet them. They would be friendly until they asked them what kind of dog they were. When they heard the word wolf, they would jump back,” he said.
Russell said he would be happy to talk with Doughty if he wants some advice.
“I want him to do it the right way instead of doing it wrong and getting people upset.”
