BRISTOL, Maine — A wolf hybrid sanctuary is coming under scrutiny for keeping the animals in subpar facilities, according to the town’s animal control officer.
The nonprofit Wolf Ledge Refuge is unclean, flea-infested and the wolf dogs do not have proper food or shelter, according to a kennel report released by the town of Bristol. The facility also is not licensed with the state, as required by a new law.
“The ground was infested with fleas. Upon inspection of the gated enclosures, in the first large area the water was green with algae and there was no food or clean water visible. The animal shelters were small, make-shift dog houses,” wrote the town’s animal control officer, Michael Witte.
The report came after an April 17 inspection of the sanctuary.
The facility’s owner, Jim Doughty, denies all of the allegations.
“It’s a bunch of [expletive],” he said Monday. “I don’t have fleas; I’m allergic to them. [The animals] get fed daily, they’re maintained, they get vet checks. They’re not malnourished or anything else. The only thing is, yup, I should have cleaned up a bit better. I’d just gotten home when [Witte] got here and it wasn’t for an inspection, it was to check on a dog. That’s when all this [expletive] happened.”
Witte said he and a game warden went to the wolf hybrids’ home, where Doughty also lives, to investigate a previous wolf dog incident. Witte would not elaborate on what the previous incident was.
“Animals [at the facility were] not watered, animals [were] not fed properly. Animals in these conditions come under more scrutiny than someone’s household dog. It’s more like a kennel — we expect a high standard because the public is involved,” Witte said.
Doughty was issued warnings for keeping his husky, named Lupine, without a dog license. He also was warned about having all five wolf dogs registered with the town, tattooed and neutered as is required by a law passed last year and for not having a state permit, as is required by law.
According to Witte, Doughty has made efforts to amend all those problems.
Because of a new wolf hybrid law passed last year as emergency legislation, the licensing process for wolf dogs has shifted from one state agency to another. This caused some confusion, according to Liam Hughes, the state’s director of animal welfare. So although Doughty had called and tried to get a license, he didn’t receive one.
“There was some confusion, so we will renew that license once we get that application in,” Hughes said.
The town has handed Witte’s report up to the Maine Department of Agriculture for review. There will be no repercussions from the town as a result of the report, Witte said.
Just the facts, just the facts, sounds like a “he said she said” type of case.
Everyone has fleas.Jehovah HATES fleas!!!!!
Poor ol’ wolfie puppies. First they get a unfair rap for being vicious killers and now they get the fleas. I hope they get rid of the fleas soon and they feel better.
a little off topic but if you have pets and need help with paying for the meds- http://www.rxcut.com/RXA00065. It works and I have been using this for 3 months now. The savings are usually 10-20$ off one prescription but it could be more for you. Good luck! let’s keep the puppies flea free.
Get that flea shot, it worked for my pets! And it lasted all winter!
that shot is toxic to the animal.
I never knew dogs, or wolf dogs for that matter, got tatoos.
Before micro chips we had tatoo’s, to ID with. I think you still have the choice.
Tattoos are put on dogs when they are spayed.
The animals in the picture above look pretty well cared for to me.
Not that I am some kind of expert but the dogs in these photos look pretty healthy and well off. Perhaps he didn’t have food out for them because he feeds them at scheduled times and does not leave food out at all times for them Sounds like a very short sighted report that was written and perhaps there is some personal motivation behind it. Yes this doesn’t look like the cleanest, best kept area for these animals but it is far better than a lot of which you see in this state. As for the “small, make-shift dog houses”, what is the guy supposed to have, an elaborate palace for each dog-wolf? From my understanding these animals actually prefer a small home, and it is better in cold weather as it helps them keep warm. Sounds like this report is a witch hunt and a bunch of b.s. Hope this guy fights it and gets to keep his animals. I understand the need to have some regulations and rules but it seems that everything has gotten way out of control lately and animals are held in the same regard as humans.
The pictures are over a year old.
The state has us in permits, licensing etc. We just need to leave each other alone.. To much govt intervention.
Unexpected visits are great, they show what is really going on. It should happen to everyone who needs something from the state or the feds. Any accident can be explained away but over all conditions, can not. We certainly need more of it as in the past it takes an act of God to get these departments to investigate, where animals are concerned.
yeah, we need more rules/regs in this country. animal laws are becoming stricter than laws dealing wtih humans. geez.
That’s because animals, unlike humans, cannot speak for themselves!
If people actually paid attention to what they were doing and gave a crap about consequences to anything other than themselves, we wouldn’t need regulations. But people are lazy and ignorant, and they don’t care about anything except watching the next episode of American Idol. So we need regulations and enforcement to keep them from screwing up as much as possible.
You do realize there are now more laws on the books regarding the care of animals than there are laws regarding the care of the elderly in nursing homes? I’m all for the humane treatment of animals but the insanity of trying to hold someone over a barrel over something as arbitrary and ridiculous as an alleged flea infestation (what, wild canids don’t have fleas!?) just makes me shake my head. For me this is more about foolish and wasteful government intrusion than anything else.
I have seen many dogs in Maine living in much worse conditions than these without any official stepping up to address the issue. It does appear that a little more cleaning needs to occur here but the dogs look healthy.
I don’t know the condition of the facility as I was not there. It does sound as though there was a longer story involving the owner and the ACO that is only hinted at here.
But hey, I do know about fleas! We care for a feral cat colony as well as a house full of rescues of varied species. It is hard work, expensive and thankless but for the unconditional love of the animals you save. BTW, we try to find them all forever homes. So anyway, I know about fleas.
A trip to the farm and garden store will usually find large buckets full of diotamaceous earth of food grade; quite affordable. Spread it liberally on the animals and their enclosures, it kills the fleas an prevents reinfestation. It is an ongoing process but one that is non-toxic. With food grade DE you can also feed a small amount to your animals every day to prevent intestinal parasites infection. It always amazes my vet when they check my dogs and find zero intestinal parasites.
Good luck to this guy who seems to be trying to do the right thing. I hope the town high mucky mucks decide to work with him rather than against him. I do wish however that the animals had larger enclosures. Perhaps those of you complaining could volunteer to help or chip in some money for upkeep and licensing. Hmmmmm?
Seems like the witch hunt is on.
Jim loves those dogs, and takes good care of them.
This is nothing more than some board anal-retentive fear-monger that has nothing more to do than target someone that is doing good.
I truly question Witte’s judgment and bet that he would not be willing to bring in a impartial wolf professional….!
And FYI, my puppy “isnt” a mix…!
Leave the man alone. Wolf hybrids are no more dangerous than the dogs I see neglected or raised by “tough guys” around bangor. As for the fleas, outbreaks happen and can be tough to deal with. This is an example of overregulation..hopefully he doesn’t end up like the Chicken Man of Roswell, Georgia (Google it!) because of some arrogant small town beaurocrat with a vendetta.