The Shy Wolf Sanctuary in Golden Gate Estates moved their animals back home Monday. Last Friday, the 30th Avenue Wildfire forced them to be evacuated. The sanctuary is known for being a home to abandoned and mistreated wild animals that people had tried to turn into pets.
"When we put the call out to our volunteers, a bunch of them left their jobs," said Deanna Deppen, president and chair of the board at Shy Wolf. "Their employers allowed them to come and help us."
She said that the process of moving the animals - including wolves and wolf dogs, as well as a bobcat - was stressful for the four-legged creatures.
"Moving them somewhere else is a tremendous undertaking and risk," Deppen said.
Shy Wolf's animals ad their enclosures are crammed together in a space of about an acre and a half. Deppen said that the sanctuary's board is looking for land to build a bigger, more durable facility so they won't necessarily have to evacuate.
"It would be hurricane-proof and fire-proof, where we can lock them down," Deppen said. "We would have more than enough space to bring in animals from other people."
Deppen said organizations that stepped up to shelter the wolves and other animals evacuated from Shy Wolf include the Gulf Coast Humane Society and the Pit Bull Crew of Naples.
