This month marks the five-year anniversary of a story about survivorship that brought the Orange County community together: when a group of wolf dogs escaped their enclosure and went on the run. The animals, who were cross bred at a Cedar Grove home, caught the attention and hearts of many people as they were at large in rural parts of the county. Animal Services eventually captured nine of them – eight with wolf traits and one German Shephard – and found them safe, permanent homes.
But where, and how, are they now?
While the wolf-dog hybrids were caught by Orange County Animal Services over the course of a few weeks, finding a solution for where they could then go took much longer. Tenille Fox, the communications specialist for the department, said because there is no approved rabies vaccine for such animals, wolf dogs are illegal to be kept as pets in the county and the Cedar Grove group was not well socialized with people. With many rescues and sanctuaries either full, lacking proper resources, or requiring a specific threshold of wolf traits, it led to most of the dogs being held at the shelter for six months. Fox said while the long-term confinement was stressful and challenging to the animals, the shelter “always had people working hard to make them comfortable and give them the best possible outcomes.”
But in January, two of the creatures found help from Wolfwood Refuge in southwest Colorado. The nonprofit is a state and federally licensed rescue site for wolves and wolf dogs, set on 40 acres in the high-elevation desert wilderness, where the animals are cared for by a mix of staff and volunteers.
Elizabeth Lawyer is one of those people, having started as a volunteer at Wolfwood and transitioned to a regular caretaker on the site. When Orange County Animal Services got in touch, she and her husband Keith – who Elizabeth met at the refuge – offered to be the ones who would make the trip to North Carolina.
“Once [Wolfwood Founder and Director Paula Woerner] gave us the go-ahead that we had space for the animals, my husband and I loaded up our truck and the Wolfwood’s custom-built trailer to haul the wolf dogs back,” Lawyer told Chapelboro. “We drove, I think, two days there to get them. And on the way back, we actually took three days.”
The pair of bonded sibling dogs – Nina, who sports a dark coat, and Torin who is tan and looks very wolf-like – were thin but in good health as they made the cross-country trip. Lawyer said she remembers the animals snuggling together through the fence of their cages in the trailer and behaving well despite being nervous at the shelter.
The travel trailer used by Wolfwood in 2021. This photo shows the travel setup parked in Oklahoma as Elizabeth Lawyer brought Nina and Torin out to Colorado from Orange County, N.C. (Photo via Elizabeth Lawyer.)
Nina and Torin leaning against the shared fence of the trailer as they travel from North Carolina to Colorado in 2021. (Photo via Elizabeth Lawyer.)
Woerner started the organization after adopting her first wolf dog as an adult. She said the connection she created with one that was at a shelter in California on the brink of euthanasia charted her course to rescue and provide a home for others. The refuge has operated at its current site since 2002 and is up to nearly 60 animals.
“You know, I didn’t move to Colorado at 40 [years-old] going, ‘I know, let’s start a wolf rescue,’” Woerner said with a laugh. “I tell people, I don’t recommend it… it’s stupid hard work. But not everybody gets to live their passion, and I do. I wake up every day just so blessed to be able to interact with these animals, and help them, and educate people about them.”
Woerner and the staff’s mission at Wolfwood Refuge is to help provide the best environment for their animals – meaning they are in big, open pens and are never chained. The group works to socialize the animals to help make them comfortable with their surroundings – and with people who visit the refuge or that the dogs meet on trips. Wolfwood regularly gives educational presentations and meet-and-greets with youth organizations, which Woerner says is to help people learn about the animals and their place in nature.
“The great part about Wolfwood,” she said, “is that every animal has some person that thinks they’re the best.”
Woerner said for Torin, that is a volunteer named Carola. For Nina, it’s Lawyer.
“I’m always drawn to the most shy animals that you have to work for their affection,” said the caretaker. “And right away, you could tell that was Nina, she was one of those animals. Not scared, but very cautious.”
Both Nina and Torin are “happy and healthy” at Wolfwood, according to Lawyer and Woerner, with space to roam together in the biggest pen at the site. Each has developed their own personality and way of interacting with the staff: Torin is more social and willing to get closer to volunteers, especially if they have treats. Nina, meanwhile, will hide or keep her distance from people – and her shyness is why the pair are not on the tour path for visitors to regularly see.
Nina (left) and Torin (right) together in their enclosure at Wolfwood Refuge near Ignacio, Colorado. (Photo via Wolfwood Refuge.)
Woerner said she believes the siblings’ experience is an example of resilience considering how much the hybrid animals went through to ultimately be in Colorado. Compared to some of the other rescues at Wolfwood, she said these two are very lucky. Lawyer, meanwhile, said working with the wolf dogs from Orange County has helped teach her an important lesson in affection and reciprocation.
“Nina, in particular, has shown me that it’s okay to have an animal that I will probably never get to pet,” said Lawyer. “Because she has her own unique personality and she’s very happy where she is, she’s content. It would be only for me that she would need to be pet – she doesn’t need that. And so, I’m just learning that it’s okay that she doesn’t receive affection in the same way every other animal does. And it’s okay for each of them to be their individual [selves].
“There are some animals that have taken me seven years before I’ve been able to pet them,” she added. “And I may never be able to pet Nina and Torin, and I just have to be okay with that.”
Although, Woerner said, Torin is not afraid to dole out his own physical interactions with the staff.
“They’re like little kids on a playground that want to interact with you, but they don’t know what to do,” Woerner said of some dogs. “So, they just sock you and run away. That’s what Torin does. He hits us with his nose, and then he runs away…and he comes back, his us with his nose, and runs away. He thinks it’s very funny.”
Torin playing in the snow. The more social of the two Orange County wolf dogs at Wolfwood, he is more willing to approach and directly interact with staff. (Photo via Wolfwood Refuge.)
Nina in the snow. Both she and her brother Torin have been featured in Wolfwood Refuge’s annual calendar sold to help fundraiser for the sanctuary. Nina was most recently featured for the month of June 2026. (Photo via Wolfwood Refuge.)
Torin at Wolfwood Refuge during the spring. (Photo via Carola Baum/Wolfwood Refuge on Facebook.)
Despite Nina and Torin living nearly 2,000 miles away and five years removed from being on the run in rural Orange County, the North Carolina residents still have their ways of making an impact on the wolf dogs. Woerner said some of the most consistent donations come from Orange County people who became attached to the dogs and their survival story back in 2021.
“Your community still supports those animals, which I’d love to say: thank you,” said the Wolfwood founder. “They still buy things off of Amazon and Chewy for them, they still send some financial support. That’s just so wonderful and such a blessing to be able to have that continued support from people who were involved in their story.”
“I know people in North Carolina really cared about them – and they still do, they never stopped,” added Lawyer. “So, we really appreciate their care for the animals, even though they never get to visit them or see them. I think it’s really cool they were able to build a connection with them as well.”
Orange County Animal Services ultimately found permanent homes for the other six dogs in its care. The German Shepard was adopted out through the shelter’s typical adoption program. Not long after Nina and Torin were driven to Colorado, three wolf dogs found at home at Heroes and Hybrids in Wisconsin, and another three went to an undisclosed sanctuary toward the end of February 2022. Fox said the department does not get updates about how the animals are doing at their new homes — but the dogs left their impression on Animal Services staff too.
“Caring for these wolfdogs and overcoming the challenges of safely rehoming them was a huge learning experience for everyone at OCAS,” she said. “Once they made it safely to their new homes, it also became one of the most rewarding experiences for everyone involved.”
Featured photos via Wolfwood Refuge.
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