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Wolf Sanctuary will test suspected wolfdog hybrids’ DNA

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One of the wolfdog hybrids seized from a home at 120 Spring St. in Bentleyville Aug 23.

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Fredrick Frameli watches as State Game Commission law enforcement officers and Humane Society police officers remove several wolfdog hybrids and other dogs from his home at 120 Spring St. in Bentleyville.

A Bentleyville resident faces three additional charges of keeping suspected wolfdog hybrids without a permit, and the Lancaster County wolf sanctuary where the animals are now living will be obtaining DNA to show their lineage.

Michelle Mancini, education coordinator for Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview Thursday the three suspected wolfdog hybrids Fredrick Frameli of Spring Street surrendered Aug. 23 are doing well in quarantine.

“They are on a steady feeding diet to build up strength slowly,” Mancini said. “We feed them several small meals per day. They are already starting to get some strength back. We can see some muscle. We’re still getting to know them. They seem to be very social when interacting with each other.”

District Judge Curtis Thompson has scheduled a hearing on the new charges filed by Game Commission Wildlife Officer Richard Joyce and animal cruelty charges filed by Washington Area Humane Society Enforcement Officer Glen Thomson for later this month.

The cruelty charges stem from the conditions under which the suspected wolfdog hybrids and eight other canines allegedly were kept inside Frameli’s home. Authorities said they were underweight and some were suffering from a burn-like irritation from lying in urine. Frameli also is accused of holding a dog’s head under water.

Joyce said he had communicated with the breeder of the suspected hybrids, which were born in Ohio, where wolfdogs are not regulated by state law.

The 80-acre wolf sanctuary in Lititz is believed to be the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania. It is regulated by both the Game Commission and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Not counting the new rescues, the sanctuary is home to 44 wolves or wolfdogs.

Either blood or saliva from the animals seized in Bentleyville will be sent to a laboratory for analysis.

“We DNA test just for our sake,” Mancini said. “If they do not have wolf in them, we cannot integrate them into the sanctuary.”

Should members of the Bentleyville trio be found to contain no or very little wolf heritage, they would be put up for adoption.

Just as the genetic material of fraternal twins does not match exactly, wolfdogs’ DNA can differ from pup to pup in the same litter.

Dogs’ genome differs from that of modern wolves, but each may be descended from a common lupine ancestor that is now extinct, according to a University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences article published in 2014.

Washington Area Humane Society rented a vehicle for $350 to transport the suspected wolfdogs to the sanctuary Aug. 26. The other eight dogs will be sent to foster homes, which have the first opportunity to adopt them. If they are not kept by those fostering them, they will be available for adoption.

“My staff is working to the breaking point to keep up with all the cases of abuse in this county,” executive director Kelly Proudfit wrote in an email.

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