Couple Lied About Dangerous ‘Stray’ Aggressive Wolf-Dog Was Pet They Couldn’t Control

A Spokane Valley woman lied to county animal control officers, telling them a stray German shepherd was in her house, threatening her and her 3-month-old daughter.

Actually, the “stray” was her increasingly aggressive wolf-hybrid pet, an animal she was desperate to get rid of.

Annette Verduchi claimed the stray had attacked her family dog. She watched two officers capture the scared, snarling animal Tuesday. They took him away, knowing he was part wolf and would have to be put to sleep.

“What a shame,” Verduchi said to a reporter that day. “He’s beautiful.”

Now, she admits that stray is Wolfy, her young wolf-dog who had gotten out of control. She says he is 100 percent gray wolf, a claim that has brought in U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials responsible for protecting the endangered species.

Officials doubt Wolfy is a pure-bred gray wolf. Even if he is, they say his domestic upbringing will probably cause them to order his death on Monday, following their investigation. If he is a wolf mix, he’ll also face euthanasia, said Nancy Sattin, director of the Spokane County Animal Shelter.

Wolf-hybrids, she said, are unpredictable and antisocial and don’t make good pets.

This situation, she said, is a good reminder that they aren’t just another dog that can be made into a family pet. Still, they’re easy to get, and often advertised in the classifieds.

Verduchi and her fiance, Bud Vanderhoof, found Wolfy through a local classified ad. He was cute and cuddly. They thought it would be cool to have a wolf as a pet.

Until he began tearing siding off the garage, jumping the fence and snarling at them.

Not yet a year old, he was getting smarter and wilder, Vanderhoof said. The couple tried to give him away, but no one would take him. So they made up a story.

“We’re sorry that we lied about it,” Vanderhoof said. “We just wanted to get rid of him, no hassles, no questions.

“We just got in over our heads,” he said. “I’d like to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Shelter officials are angry that the couple deceived them, and plan to charge them the $60 it would have cost to have their unwanted pet picked up. They’ll also charge them $25 for picking up a second “stray,” which turned out to be their other family dog.

The second dog, a chow-mix, might be suitable for adoption, Sattin said.

Wolf-hybrids aren’t regulated by the county’s inherently dangerous mammal and reptile act. They’re treated like any dog, Sattin said, and require shots and licensing.

But neither she, nor Vanderhoof, recommend them.

“Wolfy was wild,” Vanderhoof said. “The older he got, the more he wanted to get out.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo