Wolf or dog? DNA means difference between life and death for beloved Colo. pet. – Washington Post

In late February, a dog named Capone escaped from his yardin the city of Aurora, Colo. It was the only time in seven years living on the property, his owners said, that their fence could not contain Capone. The animal, a rescue dog his owners believed to be aGerman shepherd with black Labrador mixed in, made his way toward a nearby residents home.

He failed to charm the neighbors. There was an aggressive dog in my backyard and he tried attacking us when we tried to get him off our lawn, Diana MontoyatoldCBS 4. He would just run to us and try to jump us.

Aurora Animal Control captured Capone and held him at the local shelter. Animal controlgrew suspicious that Capone was not a typical dog there was something wolfish about Capones character, behavior and body, they determined.

The responding officer assessed the dog, which had been at the (neighbors) residence for five hours, and noted continued aggressive behavior, including approaching with bared teeth, low growling, hard stare and lowered head, Aurora officials told the Aurora Sentinel in a statement.

From the outset, Tracy Abbato, Capones owner, disputed that her dog was part wolf. She alsodenied he was athreat.

Hes not aggressive. Capone is a very mellow, laid back dog, she said to Timemagazine on March 16. Hes a typical dog. Hes a family member. He doesnt bother anybody. Had Capone turned out to be part wolf, it was possible that animal control would have had him euthanized.

After catching the escapee, Aurora officials declined to release Capone to his family. They demanded that Abbato and her family wait until a genetic testcould determine that Capone was not part wolf.

A DNA test later vindicated Abbatos assertion that Capone was not a wolf. The results came back negative, she told Denver7.Not an ounce of wolf. On Wednesday, the Aurora Municipal Court cleared Capone to return home.

It marked the close of a nearlymonth-long separation.Its hard waking up and hes not there, Abbato said to CBS 4 on March 15. Its been heartbreaking. Hes our family member and we dont have him here with us.

A cityordinancebans animals or livestock that are wild, exotic or dangerous, which includes the unusual suspects would-be owners of gorillas and crocodiles are out of luck in Aurora. Coyotes, foxes and wolves are banned, too. As are wolf-dog hybrids. Dogs are allowed, although pit bulls and certain restrictedbreeds were outlawed in 2006.

The city is wary of dangerous dogs. Its not just a wolf-hybrid issue by itself, Michael Bryant, a city of Aurora spokesman, told Time. The 11-year-old dog bit a person on his familys property in the past. Aaron Acker, an attorney for the dogs owners, describedthe incident as Capone protecting against an intruder,Fox 32reported.

Capones owners were charged with several offenses: keeping a wild anddangerous animal, not having a license for Capone, not vaccinating the dog against rabies and allowing the dog to roam unrestrained.

Republicans in Colorados state senate took up Capones case. Big government is at it again,reada post on the senators website.An Aurora family is in danger of being split up because a local animal shelter suspects their family dog, Capone, could be distantly related to wolves. More than 600 people signedthe state Republican petition to spare Capone.

I felt we should speak up for an animal who cant speak for himself, Tim Neville, a Republican state senator, told the Colorado Statesman. We wanted to put attention on what appears to be local government overstepping and separating a pet away from its loving family and placing unnecessary charges against them.

Those concerned about wolf-dog pet ownershipcite the animals large size, high levels of energy and their unpredictability. A1993 incident involving a wolf-dog who, although vaccinated, reportedly contracted rabiesalsoraised questions about whether vaccines were as effective in hybrid animals.

A few hundred thousand wolf-dog hybrids are thought to live in the United States, although many wolf-dogs advertised as such are mislabeled dogs.

Wolf-dog behavior may be hard to generalize, said Kim Miles, a member of the wolf-dog advocacy group now known as the National Lupine Association,if the generational distance between wolf and dog is unknown.

Wolf-dogs arent easily pegged because theyre essentially a combination of wild and domesticated animals, Miles said to the Bark.A dog is like a 12-year-old child, and a wolf is like a 35-year-old man. The dog will generally do what you want it to, but the wolf will do what you want only if he wants to do it himself.

The animals can be difficult to keep as pets, too, because several states and municipalities outlaw thehybrids. (In D.C., for instance, it is illegal to own wolf-dog hybrids, cat-ocelot hybrids and other exotic pets. Whether exotic should be defined to include backyard chickens was amatter of recent debate.)

Although wolves and dogs are closely related, specific genetic differences may exist between wolves and their domesticated cousins. One test performed at theveterinarygenetics lab at the University of California at Davis, for instance, checks for some two dozen shortDNAmarkersthat are unique to wolves. Such an analysis may be able to tell whether a dog had wolfgreat-grandparents, although tracing any wolfish lineage to older generations is difficult.

The University of California at Davis test, conducted with a sample of Capones blood, seemed to sufficiently absolve the dogof any recent wild ancestry. We got some good news last night, Abbato said Sunday toFox 31. Capone is not wolf at all. He doesnt have an ounce of wolf in him.

The Aurora Sentinel reportedthat Serrano pleaded guilty to three of five charges failing to inoculate Capone against rabies, allowinghim to roam free and not registering Capone with the city. After a hearing at the Aurora Municipal Court, Capone was able to return home as of Wednesday afternoon.

We believe this resolution strikes a balance between keeping the family and their longtime pet together, and addressing the safety of the community as a whole, Aurora Animal Services manager Jenee Shipmantold the Aurora Sentinel in a statement.

The dog will return homevaccinated. And, as part of the resolution, Capones owners have agreed to construct a taller fence around their property.

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Wolf or dog? DNA means difference between life and death for beloved Colo. pet. - Washington Post